Victims' Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA) FAQ

The Victims’ Economic Security & Safety Act (VESSA) provides employees who are or whose family or household member are victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, and any other crime of violence with up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, but job-protected, leave for specific enumerated purposes related to the domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or any other crime of violence.

It also entitles employees to reasonable accommodations in the workplace, two workweeks of bereavement leave if a family or household member dies due to a crime of violence, protection against discrimination if an employee uses a work-provided electronic device to document instances of violence, and protection against retaliation if an employee exercises their rights under the Act. 

Any individual who is employed by an employer and is either (1) a victim of domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or any other crime of violence or (2) has a family or household member who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or any other crime of violence is covered by VESSA.

For purposes of VESSA coverage, a family or household member is an employee’s:

(1) spouse or party to a civil union;

(2) parent;

(3) grandparent;

(4) child;

(5) grandchild;

(6) sibling;

(7) any other person related by blood or by present or prior marriage or civil union, other person who shares a relationship through a child, or any other individual whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship as determined by the employee, and

(8) persons jointly residing in the same household. 

An employer is:

(1) the State or any agency of the State;

(2) any unit of local government or school district; or

(3) any individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust, legal representative, or any organized group of persons that employs at least one (1) employee. 

Individuals who are bona fide independent contractors are not covered under VESSA. To be considered an independent contractor, an individual must: (1) be free from control and direction over the performance of their work, both under the contract of service and in fact; (2) perform work outside the usual course of business or outside all the places of business of the employer; and (3) be in an independently established trade, occupation, profession, or business. All three factors must be met in order for an individual to be considered an independent contractor.

The federal government and agencies of the federal government are also not required to provide unpaid leave to their employees under VESSA. 

Employees are entitled to up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave based on the number of employees working for their employer:

An employee can use unpaid leave under VESSA for the following reasons:

·  To seek medical attention for, or to recover from, physical or psychological injuries caused by domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or any other crime of violence;

·  To obtain services from a victim services organization;

·  To obtain psychological or other counseling;

·  To participate in safety planning, temporarily or permanently relocating, or taking other actions to increase the safety of the employee or the employee’s family or household member from future violence;

·  To seek legal assistance or remedies to ensure the health and safety of the employee or the employee’s family or household member, including preparing for or participating in any civil, criminal, or military legal proceeding related to or derived from domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or any other crime of violence;

·  To attend the funeral, or alternative to a funeral or wake, of a family or household member who is killed in a crime of violence;

·  To make arrangements necessitated by the death of a family or household member who is killed in a crime of violence; or

·  To grieve the death of a family or household member who is killed in a crime of violence.

Employees must follow their employer’s policy when requesting to use VESSA leave. An employee cannot request to use VESSA leave by contacting the Illinois Department of Labor. 

An employee must provide their employer with at least 48 hours’ advance notice of their intent to take VESSA leave unless providing such notice is not practicable. For example, seeking emergency medical care after an incident of domestic violence may be a situation where providing advance notice is not practicable. However, a scheduled court date a month in advance may be a situation where providing advance notice is practicable.

Yes. An employer may require the employee to provide certification that: (1) the employee or the employee’s family or household member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or any other crime of violence; and (2) the leave is for one of the enumerated reasons in Section 20(a)(1).

An employee can satisfy the certification requirement by providing a sworn statement and any of the following documents of the employee’s choice (if they have them in their possession):

(1) documentation from an employee, agent, or volunteer of a victim services organization, an attorney, a member of the clergy, or a medical or other professional from whom the employee has sought assistance in addressing domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or any other crime of violence and the effects of the violence;

(2) a police, court, or military record;

(3) a death certificate, published obituary, or written verification of death, burial, or memorial services from a mortuary, funeral home, burial society, crematorium, religious institution, or government agency, documenting that a victim was killed in a crime of violence; or

(4) other corroborating evidence.

No. An employer cannot request or require an employee to submit more than one document during the same 12-month period the leave is requested or taken, if the reason for the leave is related to the same incident or incidents of violence or the same perpetrator or perpetrators of violence.

However, if an employee is taking VESSA leave intermittently, an employer may request or require the employee to provide a certification, which can include a sworn statement that the employee or their family or household member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or any other crime of violence and the leave was for an enumerated reason.

A reasonable accommodation under VESSA may include adjustments to job structure, workplace facility, or work requirements, including a transfer, reassignment, or modified schedule, leave, a changed telephone number or seating assignment, installation of a lock, or implementation of a safety procedure, or assistance in documenting domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or any other crime of violence that occurs at the workplace or in work-related settings, or any other reasonable accommodation in response to actual or threatened domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or any other crime of violence. 

An employer should grant an employee’s reasonable accommodation request unless the employer can show it would impose an undue hardship on the employer’s operations. An “undue hardship” means an action requiring significant difficulty or expense, upon considering the following factors: (1) the nature and cost of the reasonable accommodation needed; (2) the overall financial resources of the facility involved, the effect on expenses and resources, or the impact otherwise of such an accommodation on the operation of the facility; (3) the overall financial resources of the employer, the overall size of the business and number of employees of an employer, and the number, type, and location of the facilities of an employer; and (4) the type of operation of the employer, including the composition, structure, and functions of the workforce, the geographic separateness of the facility, and the administrative or fiscal relationship of the facility.

No. An employee can use their leave consecutively (all at once), intermittently (stopping and starting at irregular intervals), or on a reduced schedule. 

No. Any leave taken under VESSA is unpaid, but job-protected, leave. However, an employee may choose to substitute any of their unpaid VESSA leave with any paid leave provided by the employer.

No. An employer cannot require an employee to use or exhaust their paid leave before providing them with unpaid leave under VESSA. While an employee may choose to substitute their unpaid VESSA leave with any paid leave provided by the employer, the employer cannot require the employee to make that choice.

Yes. All information provided to the employer, including any statements of the employee or any other documentation, record, or corroborating evidence, and the fact that the employee has requested or has obtained leave under VESSA, must be kept strictly confidential. 

Yes. VESSA protects employees who use a work-provided electronic device to document instances or acts of violence and prohibits employers from taking away an employee’s work-provided electronic device and from preventing employees from accessing any digital data from their work-provided electronic device that documents instances or acts of violence against them or a family or household member.

No. VESSA strictly prohibits employers from retaliating against an employee for using or requesting to use VESSA leave or requesting a reasonable accommodation. 

Yes. An employee can use two workweeks (10 work days) to attend the funeral, to make arrangements, or to grieve the loss of a family or household member killed in a crime of violence. However, if an employee is also eligible for unpaid bereavement leave under the Family Bereavement Leave Act (FBLA), then the employee can use the two workweeks (10 work days) in addition to their allotment of unpaid VESSA leave. If an employee is not eligible for unpaid bereavement leave under the FBLA, then the two workweeks (10 work days) are taken from their allotment of unpaid VESSA leave. 

If an employee believes that their employer is not complying with VESSA, they can file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Labor. https://labor.illinois.gov/laws-rules/leave_rights_division/vessa/vessacomplaintform.html

No. Because allegations against an employer are specific to an employee, the name of the complainant employee along with a copy of the complaint are sent to the employer for their response. The Act protects employees against retaliation, and employees who experience retaliation after exercising or attempting to exercise their rights under VESSA can file a complaint.

No. An employee does not need an attorney to file a complaint. However, if an employee has an attorney, please provide their name and contact information on the complaint form.