JEFFERSON CITY— Today the Missouri Senate, on a mostly party line vote, stripped all legal enforcement mechanisms from legislation meant to allow victims of domestic violence to take unpaid time off from work to participate in court.

The bill, sponsored by Senator Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors, would have allowed victims of domestic violence to take time from work to attend court proceedings relating to their abuse without losing their job. 

“It’s straightforward:  Don’t abuse these women twice by firing them if they need time off to see a lawyer, or to testify in court,” said Sen. Walsh.

Initially, the bill allowed for unpaid leave to seek medical attention, obtain counseling or even relocate to a safe place.  Many of those provisions were negotiated out of the bill in order to obtain passage from committee—which it did unanimously. 

The committee hearing included many advocates, including the National Council of Jewish Women-St. Louis Section, which estimated the loss of earnings for victims of domestic violence totals around $18 million a year. The cost to employers, from absenteeism, reduced productivity and increased medical costs, is approximately $5 billion a year.

Many large companies, including MERS Goodwill of St. Louis, currently offer leave for domestic violence victims— recognizing the importance of their employee’s health, well-being and safety.  In fact, Illinois and five other states have already enacted similar protections— Illinois more than 10 years ago.

“Domestic violence impacts one in four women.  I would say ‘chances are you know someone’—but at one in four it’s almost a certainty.  We have to help,” said Sen. Walsh. “Instead we gutted the bill and moved on to a tax bill.  Apparently victims of domestic violence are less of a priority than taxes.”