Introduction
There have been several federal and state legislative actions on domestic violence as the latter subject has brought with it several problems to victims and to society in general. However, for the purposes of this paper, greater emphasis will be given to federal and legislative action regarding workplace policy for agencies.
Legislative action on agencies promoting safety in the workplace
The law has dramatically changed on domestic violence in violence. In the past, it had not been imagined that such cases would affect the corporate arena but this is no longer the case. In 1994, agencies designed to support women harassed at the workplace were formed. Four years later, this was followed by more intensive calls for such a law. Therefore in 1999, laws were passed to handle domestic violence at the workplace. The laws took effect from the first day of July 1999. In the next year, law experts began gearing up to utilize this law with regard to cases within the workplace. Shortly after, New York now started enhancing prevention efforts for domestic violence in the workplace. This was done through policy guidance for employers.
In 2002, state employers in New York decided to take different measures for tackling the various laws and actions. This was subsequently followed by state actions to call for an end to domestic violence at the workplace through joint efforts with religious groupings. In 2004, the state of New York decided to look into some of the ways of preventing this form of domestic violence by forming an Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence in 2005, employers were required to adequately deal with domestic violence in their workplaces as failure to do so could lead to prosecution.
All these milestones have indicated how the law on domestic violence has changed. Nonetheless, there is a need to see how these changes have affected the workplace and what employers have been required to do as well as agencies that deal with the issue of domestic violence within the workplace today. (OPDV, 2008)
The legislative action covers employee policy on domestic violence. In this regard, employers are supposed to allow their employees to attend court sessions if they happen to be victims or exercise any right that surrounds domestic violence. (OPDV, 2009) Agencies are also expected to work hand in hand with employers to ensure that employees can obtain time off to care for their relatives who may be victims of domestic violence. This is also coupled with the process of obtaining documentation that may be needed to ensure the safety of domestic violence through absences from work. The major task of these agencies here is to ensure that they pressure employers to maintain confidentiality and also to make sure that employees themselves know what is required of them when trying to increase their safety levels. (Office for Prevention of domestic violence, 2009)
When agencies play this role, then employees who happen to be victims of domestic violence need not worry about possible penalties to work when dealing with their problems and the negative effects of domestic violence on the victim can be drastically reduced.
Conclusion
The federal and state legislative action discussed was the Domestic violence workplace policy. This policy regulates the role of agencies dealing with domestic violence. Through these regulations, victims of domestic violence can be protected from discrimination in the workplace based on the victimized status and they can also heal faster as a result of the minimal focus on other matters.
References
Office for Prevention of domestic violence (2009). “Domestic violence in New York.” New York State annual paper
OPDV (2008). Finding safety and support for victims of domestic violence.
OPDV (2009).Teen dating violence awareness and prevention. Web.
OPDV (2009). What professionals need to know on domestic violence. Web.