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Make All Survivors of Violence Eligible for Unemployment Insurance

Last February, Elizabeth Turner sat before the Florida Senate Committee on Commerce and Tourism and told them how her abuser had put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger three times, only to see it misfire. When he showed up at her job, that scared me so bad I was afraid to go back to work. Desperate to escape her abuser, she lost her job and fled, with her children to a homeless shelter. When survivors decide to leave their abusive partners, they may not only need to leave their homes, but also need to leave their jobs in order to keep themselves and their families safe. The vast majority (40) of states have recognized this by enacting laws/policies that make survivors of, at minimum, domestic violence eligible for unemployment benefits.1 At a point in our economic recovery where other safety net options are both few and inadequate, unemployment insurance should be an option in all states and for all survivors. A complete response to this problem requires both legislative and administrative changes. Legislatively, the Congress should require that all states extend unemployment benefits to survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and stalking.2 Administratively, the Department of Labor should do all it can to ensure that survivors in jurisdictions where benefits are already available are aware that if they have to leave their jobs because of violence against themselves or their immediate family members, that they may qualify for unemployment benefits. The legislatures of 2 of the 10 remaining hold out states have considered extending benefits to domestic violence survivors this year.3 Maryland, in fact, enacted a provision providing unemployment insurance to survivors of domestic violence. With the unemployment insurance rolls declining consistently, and both VAWA reauthorization and another extension of UI benefits likely to occur before the end of this year, focusing on both the legislative and administrative responses is crucial. The SAFE Act (H.R. 3271), a bi-partisan bill introduced by Cong. Poe and Congresswoman Roybal Allard contains provisions to ensure that unemployment insurance is an option4 for all survivors regardless of where they live. Keeping survivors safe and giving them options so that they can escape abusive situations and not be tied economically to an abuser is good common sense. These provisions should be included in the VAWA reauthorization bill. For additional information contact Lisalyn Jacobs (ljacobs@legalmomentum.org or Maya Raghu (Maya@futureswithoutviolence.org).
1 See, State Law Guide: Unemployment Insurance Benefits for Victims of Domestic [and Sexual] Violence, Legal Momentum. July 2011. Viewed at http://www.legalmomentum.org/our-work/women-atwork/ resources-and-publications/unemployment-insurance.pdf 2 The intent is not to require that every survivor automatically receives benefits, but rather to ensure that being a survivor makes them eligible for benefits. As is currently done in 40 states, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands, each survivorapplicant should be assessed by the criteria set forth by the individual state. 3 See, Bill that Supports Unemployment Benefits for Domestic Violence Victims Passes Committee Vote, The Florida Independent, Feb. 6, 2012 viewed at http://floridaindependent.com/67986/bill-that-supportsunemployment-benefits-fordomestic-violence-victims-passes-committee-vote and Womens Law Center of Maryland, Action Alert: Unemployment Insurance Coverage Victims of Violence Support SB 291, Feb. 24, 2012. Viewed at http://www.mdjustice.org/node/2459. 4 Note: If these provisions were enacted, survivors would apply for unemployment insurance and be approved or denied on an individual basis, as is the case with every applicant for UI.