MA highest court takes employee-friendly view of domestic violence leave law

In its first opportunity to analyze the Massachusetts Domestic Violence Leave Act (DVLA), the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) recently interpreted the law in favor of greater protection for employees. In sum, the state’s highest court found (1) the statute’s definition of “employee” includes job applicants who have accepted an employment offer but haven’t yet started work, and (2) even implicit domestic violence leave requests by employees can lead to liability for employers. As a result, you should exercise caution when it comes to employees who may be entitled to leave for domestic violence-related situations covered by the law.

Facts

Kehle Osborne-Trussell accepted a job offer with Boston Children’s Hospital. Before her first day of work, however, her abuser posted false statements about her on social media and tagged the hospital as well.

Osborne-Trussell claims she told the hospital about the abuser’s behavior, gave the HR department a copy of a harassment prevention order she had previously obtained against the individual, and shared she was pursuing its enforcement. Significantly, though, she never requested leave under the DVLA or under any other law. Her lawsuit further claimed the hospital violated the Act by firing her after she disclosed the domestic violence-related situation.

In response, the hospital asked the lower court to dismiss the case, arguing: