EXECUTIVE
ORDER 96-05
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN THE WORKPLACE
WHEREAS, both employees and
citizens of the state of Washington have a basic right to be safe from harm;
and
WHEREAS, domestic violence is
abusive behavior that is either physical, sexual, or psychological, and is
intended to establish and maintain control over a partner, and
WHEREAS, domestic violence
instills fear and harms victims and families and must not be tolerated; and
WHEREAS, domestic violence is criminal activity
that statistics show affects everyone regardless of race, income, or age;
occurs in every community of Washington State; and destroys relationships,
families, and lives; and
WHEREAS, domestic violence is a
major public policy concern of Washington State requiring a concentrated effort
for its elimination; and
WHEREAS, domestic violence is not solely a
private, family dispute that affects only the people immediately involved, but
also crosses over to the workplace, adversely affecting the safety and
productivity of victims and co-workers; and
WHEREAS, the state of
Washington, as an employer, should provide needed support and assistance to
employees who are victims of domestic violence; and
WHEREAS, the state of
Washington, as an employer, is additionally affected by domestic violence in
the loss of productivity, increased health care costs, increased absenteeism,
and increased employee turnover;
NOW, THEREFORE, I,
Mike Lowry, Governor of the state of Washington, by the
authority vested in me, do hereby order and direct each state agency and
institution of higher education to:
1. Initiate
actions to create a workplace
environment that provides an
avenue for assistance for domestic violence victims without feat of reproach.
2. Ensure
that personnel policies and procedures are responsive to victim of domestic
violence.
3. Develop
and make available to all employees a policy that:
a) Clearly directs that the state will not
tolerate domestic violence. This includes harassment or the display of violent
or threatening behavior that may result in physical or emotional injury to any
state employee while in state offices, facilities, work sites, vehicles, or
while conducting state business.
b) Offers a method for providing
assistance to domestic violence victims in a confidential setting.
c) Provides for immediate assistance to
victims. This assistance shall, at a minimum, include: referral to the
Department of Personnel's Employee Advisory Service or other available
counseling services; information about community resources available to assist
victims of domestic violence; development of workplace safety plans that seek
to minimize the risk to the victim, other employees, and clients; and
information on the methods to obtain civil orders of protection.
d) Following any applicable rules or
statutes, assures that every reasonable effort will be made to adjust work
schedules and/or grant accrued or unpaid leave to allow employees who are
victim of domestic violence to obtain medical treatment, counseling, legal
assistance, to leave the area, or to make other arrangements to create a safer
situation for themselves.
e) Assures that every reasonable effort
will be made to assist employees who are victims of domestic violence to find
continued state employment when there is a need for the employee to relocate
for safety reasons.
f) Encourages state employees who are
perpetrators of domestic violence to seek assistance.
g) Provides for 'assistance to
perpetrators. This assistance shall, at
a minimum, include: referral to the Department of Personnel's Employee
Advisory Service or other available counseling services; and information about
available certified domestic violence perpetrator treatment programs.
h) Provides that corrective or
disciplinary action may be taken against state employees who: misuse state
resources to perpetrate domestic violence; harass, threaten, or commit an act
of domestic violence in the workplace or while conducting state business; or
are arrested, convicted, or issued a permanent injunction as a result of domestic
violence when such action has a direct connection to the employee's duties as a
state employee.
i) Provides that employees will not be
penalized or disciplined solely because they have been victims of domestic
violence.
4. Provide
training on their respective policies and domestic violence awareness. The
training shall include, at a minimum, information as to: what domestic violence
is; what resources are available to victims and perpetrators; and what an
employee can do if the employee believes a co-worker is a victim or perpetrator
of domestic violence.
5. Have
information about domestic violence and available resources posted in the
worksite. Also, information needs to be available where employees can obtain it
without having to request it or be seen removing it.
The Department of Personnel will provide
training assistance and make a sample policy available for all agencies and
institutions of higher education.
I am also requesting that the Health Care
Authority and the Public Employees Benefits Board continue to make every effort
to ensure that no victim of domestic violence has been or will be denied
health, life, or disability insurance due solely to a history of domestic
violence.
The provisions of this executive order are not
intended to alter any existing collective bargaining agreements.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto
set my hand and caused
the seal of the State
of Washington to be
affixed at Olympia
this 1st day of
October A.D., Nineteen hundred and ninety-six.
MIKE LOWRY
Governor of Washington
BY THE GOVERNOR:
_________________________________
Secretary of State
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