Domestic violence can permeate the lives and compromise the safety of employees with tragic, destructive and often fatal results. Domestic violence occurs within a wide spectrum of relationships, including married and formerly married couples, couples with children in common, couples who live together or have lived together, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender couples, and couples who are dating or who have dated in the past. Domestic violence represents a pattern of coercive tactics which can include physical, psychological, sexual, economic and emotional abuse perpetrated by one person against another in an intimate relationship or in the same household, with the goal of establishing and maintaining power and control over the victim. In addition to exacting a tremendous toll from the individuals it directly affects, domestic violence often spills over into the workplace, compromising the safety of both victims and co-workers and resulting in lost productivity, increased health care costs, increased absenteeism, and increased employee turnover. The City will take appropriate actions to promote safety in the workplace and respond effectively to the needs of victims of domestic violence.
(Ord. 2021-11-1. Passed 11-10-21.)