Abstract

Domestic violence occurs in the workplace more frequently than one might presume. Workplace violence is the number one cause of death for women in the workplace in part because of domestic violence spillover, where an abuser harms his victim as well as any co-workers who try to intervene.

The conflict between domestic violence and the workplace is often exposed in its rawest state when a victim of domestic violence is considered to be a threat to the workplace by her employer.

The initial reaction of most people when hearing of [a] hypothetical [in which an employer fires a domestic violence victim] is nothing short of outrage because the employer unfairly punished the victim of domestic violence; in other words, it "victimized the abused." However, many employers assume that it would be very unlikely for the employee-victim to fashion a cause of action against the employer and consider the issue as simply a policy decision, albeit a very difficult one. This Article will explore both the wisdom and the fairness of the hypothetical employer's decision to terminate the abused employee from both a doctrinal and normative perspective.

In doing so, this Article will seek to answer questions that inform this issue, such as: Is termination a legally "safe" decision or is it at least safer than the alternative (not terminating and violence ensues)? From a normative perspective, what should an employer do in this situation and which policy interests inform its decision? Should the employer further "victimize the abused" by terminating her to protect the workplace, or does the inherent unfairness of terminating the employee-victim trump the safety concerns of the rest of the workplace? Or is there a middle ground that should be explored? In answering these questions, I hope to raise the reader's awareness of both sides of the debate and hopefully spur further discussion of this issue.

This abstract has been adapted from the author's introduction.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2006

Publication Information

12 Michigan Journal of Gender & Law 275-330 (2006)

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