Equal Employment Opportunity Office

Yes.  Under State law, if the employee provides notice to the department or the department has actual knowledge of domestic or sexual violence victim status, the department should work with the employee on providing reasonable safety accommodations.  The employee knows the circumstances of his/her/their situation and is usually best able to determine the threats to safety as well as the steps that can be taken to increase safety. Thus, when an employee makes a request for a reasonable safety accommodation, the employer should rely on the employee’s judgment. The employer should engage in an interactive process with the employee to develop a safety plan that best serves their needs and does not create undue hardship on the department’s operations.

Examples of reasonable safety accommodations include:

• Allowing leave so the employee can go to court, seek assistance from a victim services organization or medical treatment, move, or take other steps to deal with the abuse
• Allowing a flexible or modified work schedule
• Changing the employee’s work telephone number or extension, or e-mail address
• Keeping the employee’s home or business address or phone number confidential
• Providing the employee with a different work area, worksite, or shift
• Having security help with preventing the abuser from entering the workplace
• Providing other reasonable security measures at the workplace

A department may grant an employee a reasonable safety accommodation based on the employee’s statement that he/she/they is/are a victim of domestic or sexual violence, or it may request a written certification of such status in the form of a document from law enforcement or the courts (e.g. a police report or protective order) or a letter from an attorney or advocate for the employee or his/her/their minor child, counselor, domestic violence or sexual assault victim services provider, health care professional, or clergy member.  The department should not instruct the employee on the type of certification he/she/they should provide.