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Domestic Violence: A Possible Solution

By Michael W. Fox, Esq.

One of the humbling aspects of keeping an online journal for any period of time, particularly when you are so unwise as to make predictions is that there exists documented proof of your own errors.

I have said (actually I think on more than one occasion), that I thought domestic violence would at some point become a major issue for employers. I can't honestly say that has been true, at least not in my experience.

Although I still believe the premise which led to the prediction, that ultimately every major society ill at some point invades the workplace. And regardless of whether it has risen to the top of employer's list of potential problems, there is no question that domestic violence remains a major social problem.

In fact in the recent North Carolina trial I mentioned a couple of days ago, our twelve person jury was reduced to eleven because one of the jurors was the subject to domestic abuse during the course of the trial and felt like she could no longer continue.

So, I am always keen to report any possible solutions, and the Institute for Policy Integrity has come up with a possibility: free legal counsel for victims. The report is Supporting Survivors: The Economic Benefits of Providing Civil Legal Assistance to Survivors of Domestic Violence.

 I found it through the Huffington Post's article by Melissa Jeltsen, One Simple Idea that Could Reduce Domestic Violence.

And it might not hurt the reputation of lawyers as a group to provide such a service.

Tying it back to my original idea of how this sometimes might show up on an employer's doorstep, another idea would be to allow an employer or other third party to assist in initiating a restraining order to protect one of its employees.

 Arizona is a leader in that regard having a statute that permits an "Injunction against workplace harassment," allowing an employer to take the lead in obtaining relief for one of its employees.

Having such an option would inevitably make employers more involved in the issue, but that might not be a bad thing.

Full post as published by Jottings By An Employer's Lawyer on July 24, 2015 (boomark / email).