MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2001 Regular Session

To: Labor

By: Representative Watson

AN ACT TO CREATE SECTION 71-1-50, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE EMPLOYERS TO GRANT LEAVE TO VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 71-1-50, Mississippi Code of 1972:

71-1-50. (1) An employer must grant reasonable and necessary leave from work, with or without pay, for an employee to:

(a) Prepare for and attend court proceedings as a result of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking;

(b) Receive medical treatment necessary as a result of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking; or

(c) Obtain necessary services to remedy a crisis caused by domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

(2) The leave must be needed because the employee is a victim of abuse as defined by Section 93-21-1(a), sexual assault as defined by Sections 97-3-65, 97-3-71 or 97-3-95, stalking as defined by Section 97-3-107(1), or any act that would support an order for protection under Section 93-21-1 et seq. An employer may not sanction an employee or deprive an employee of pay or benefits for exercising a right granted by this section.

(3) Subsections (1) and (2) of this section are not violated if:

(a) The employer would sustain undue hardship from the victim's absence;

(b) The request for leave is not communicated to the employer within a reasonable time under the circumstances; or

(c) The requested leave is impractical, unreasonable or unnecessary based on the facts then made known to the employer.

(4) This section applies to all public and private employers, including the state and its political subdivisions.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2001.