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EspañolCan an employer take action against me based on the fact that I am a victim of domestic violence who took time off to file for a protective order?
In North Carolina, an employer cannot fire you, demote you, deny you a promotion, or discipline you solely because you took time off to file for, or attend a hearing about, a domestic violence protective order. You must follow your employer’s usual procedure to get the time off from work. However, if you have a domestic violence emergency that does not allow you to follow the procedure, then you may have to provide documentation of why you were absent from the workplace.1 For example, if you are taking off to apply for a 50B domestic violence protective order, you can provide a copy of the ex parte order.
Note: The employer may still take any of the actions described above against you if there are other valid reasons to do so. The employer should be able to prove that s/he would have taken the same action even if you had not gone to court to get, or attend a hearing about, a protective order.2
1 N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 50B-5.5(a); 95-241(a)(5); 95-270(a)
2 N.C. Gen. Stat. § 95-241(b)
