Cleveland (WJW) — new law To cleveland city council It is intended to protect City of Cleveland employees and their children who are victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, or stalking with up to 60 hours of paid time off.
“This is a real crisis and an emergency,” said 7th District Councilman Stephanie Howes, who co-sponsored the bill. “Many people are brutalized, terrorized, and experience terrible things every day.”
The bill, which was approved by the city council on Monday night, is part of the response to more than 9,000 domestic and sexual assault cases reported by Cleveland police in 2021. 60% of his victims said he lost his job due to abuse and absence from work.
Howse said, “How many women, men, people are working here for the city of Cleveland? We don’t know.”
“We know that one in five women in Ohio will be raped in her lifetime.
The hard truth, Miller worked with the city council to uncover so survivors don’t have to choose between reporting assaults and jobs. I urged employers to follow suit as well.
“We know how difficult it is to recover from domestic violence and sexual assault,” Miller said. “I often hear from survivors that they are very concerned about the impact on their work.
A difficult reality, city councilors and survivor advocates hope legislation can help solve it.
“If you’re a civil servant in the city of Cleveland, that’s the bare minimum,” Howes said. “To show up for you like you show up for the residents of Cleveland every day.”
The Emergency Ordinance applies to non-union City employees. The law is the result of a working group formed in 2019 to study the problem and find solutions.
The City Council intends to include union workers in this policy through union negotiations with city leaders.
