Cape Girardeau's Safe House of Southeast Missouri leader applauds new VESSA domestic violence law

This story is updated.

Jessica Hill, executive director of Cape Girardeau's Safe House of Southeast Missouri since 2015, is glad to see information about the new Victims Economic Safety and Security Act (VESSA) is being shared by Missouri employers to their workforces.

VESSA was passed overwhelmingly this spring by the Missouri Legislature to provide unpaid leave on 48 hours' notice to private and public sector employees who report being victimized by domestic or sexual violence.

"A lot of our clients are working outside the house, taking care of their children and going through the court system," Hill said.

"To be able to have time to deal with these situations will be beneficial to them," she added, noting the Safe House had 475 women identified as clients in its last fiscal year report.

From left, Missouri state Reps. Rick Francis (R-145) of Perryville, Wayne Wallingford (R-147) of Cape Girardeau, Jamie Burger (R-148) of Benton and Barry Hovis (R-146) of Whitewater pose for a photo on Jan. 6 just before taking the oath of office in the State House chamber in Jefferson City. All four lawmakers joined a unanimous Missouri House vote in May to approve the Victims Economic Safety and Security Act.Submitted

Legislative action

The May 13 vote on House Bill 432 was 143-0 in favor, with the following members of the General Assembly's lower chamber voting in assent: Rick Francis of Perryville (R-145); Barry Hovis of Whitewater (R-146); Wayne Wallingford of Cape Girardeau (R-147); Jamie Burger of Benton (R-148).

The day before, the Missouri Senate OK'd the measure on a 24-8 tally, with Scott City lawmaker Holly Rehder (R-27) among the legislators dissenting.

Sen. Rehder was not immediately available for comment on her "no" vote.

Gov. Mike Parson signed the bill into law Aug. 28 and VESSA required all employers in the state to give notice of law's benefits no later than Oct. 27.

Specifics

The new VESSA statute allows employees who are victims of domestic or sexual violence or have a family or household member who reports such violence to take unpaid leave from work.

A Missouri Division of Labor Standards (MDLS) poster details the circumstances under which VESSA's provisions apply.

• seeking medical attention for, or recovering from, physical or psychological injuries caused by such violence.
• obtaining help from a victim services organization.
• obtaining psychological or other counseling.
• participating 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.
• seeking legal assistance or remedies to ensure health and safety.

A business or government entity employing 20 to 49 employees is entitled to up to one workweek of unpaid leave within any 12-month period. If the employer has 50 or more employees, up to two weeks of leave will be available.

MDLS said leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced work schedule.

VESSA requires employers to restore the employee to their previous position after the leave is used and must maintain group health coverage during the time away from the job.

An employer may, if desired, request certification the employee or family member is a victim of domestic or sexual violence.

Scope of problem

In the city of Cape Girardeau, Police Chief Wes Blair said Tuesday the city is seeing a more than 17% decrease in domestic violence reporting.

From Jan. 1 to Oct. 31 of this year, 237 reports were received. For the same period in 2020, the number was 286.

According to www.showmecrime.mo.gov, Missouri State Highway Patrol figures for January through June 2021 for Cape Girardeau County show 180 reported incidents in an intimate relationship: 52 aggravated assaults, 123 simple assaults and five incidents of intimidation.

In a family relationship in Cape Girardeau County, 76 incidents were reported during the six-month time frame, the latest data available: 11 incidents of fondling, eight aggravated assaults and 57 simple assaults.