On March 8, 2017, Gov. Sandoval signed SB 361 into law (an act related to domestic violence), which effectively amends Chapters 608 and 613 of the Nevada Revised Statutes. This act generally requires Nevada employers to provide leave and reasonable accommodations for employees who are victims of domestic violence or whose family members are domestic violence victims. It also imposes recordkeeping requirements and prohibits certain discriminatory actions against these employees.
An employee who has been employed for at least 90 days may take up to a maximum of 160 hours of leave within 12 months immediately following the domestic violence occurrence. The leave hours may be paid or unpaid and can be used consecutively or intermittently. Domestic violence leave must be deducted from any applicable FMLA leave if the leave is used for a purpose that is also permitted under FMLA and the employee is otherwise eligible for FMLA. An employee may use leave hours for diagnosis, care or treatment of a health condition, or to receive counseling or assistance related to an act of domestic violence committed against the employee or family/household member of the employee.
Additionally, an employer must provide reasonable accommodations for these applicable employees. Examples of reasonable accommodations include work reassignments or transfers, modified schedules, a new work telephone number or any other accommodation necessary to ensure the safety of the employee and of the workplace, as long as it doesn’t create undue hardship. However, an employer may require the employee to provide documentation to substantiate any requests for accommodation.
An employer must maintain a record of the hours of leave taken under the law for each employee for a two-year period following the entry of the record, and must make those records available for inspection by the Labor Commissioner. The Nevada Labor Commissioner has posted an online bulletin describing the rights and benefits under the law. Employers are required to post the bulletin in a conspicuous location in each workplace maintained by the employer.
The Act related to domestic violence leave becomes effective Jan. 1, 2018. Thus, employers located in Nevada should review existing leave policies and make any pertinent changes to ensure compliance.
SB 361 »
Domestic Violence Victims Bulletin »