English
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)
If my employer did discriminate against me because I got a protective order, what can I do?
If you believe you have been discriminated against because you took time off to file for, or attend a hearing about, a domestic violence protective order, you may have two options:
- File a complaint with the North Carolina Department of Labor Employment Discrimination Bureau (“EDB”); or
- Hire an attorney to file a lawsuit against your employer. 1
If you file a complaint with the EDB, they will investigate the complaint on your behalf with no cost to you. You can find the exact steps you would need to take on the North Carolina Department of Labor website.
If the EDB determines that the employer violated the law, they will meet with the employer to try to convince him/her to correct the violations. If this effort fails, one of two things may happen:
- The Commissioner of Labor may file a civil action in Superior Court on your behalf; or
- You may be given a Right-to-Sue letter, which allows you to file a civil lawsuit in Superior Court. The lawsuit must be filed within 90 days of the date of the Right-to-Sue letter. Note: Even if the EDB does not grant you a “Right-to-Sue letter,” you may still be able to file your own lawsuit.2 For legal referrals, go to our NC Finding a Lawyer page.
1 N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 50B-5.5(b); 95-270(b)
2 Adapted from the North Carolina Department of Labor website
