By Sara Goldsmith Schwartz

As of August 8, 2014, Massachusetts employers with 50 or more employees must provide up to 15 days of unpaid leave in any 12-month period for employees’ activities related to being a victim of domestic violence, including seeking medical attention or legal services, securing housing, or attending court proceedings. Massachusetts thus joins more than 20 other states and municipalities requiring such leave. Employees of covered Massachusetts employers may take leave related to their own abuse or the abuse of a covered family member, including a spouse, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling.

Employees must give advance notice of their need to use the leave, unless there is a threat of imminent danger to the health or safety of the employee or a member of the employee’s family. Employees must also first exhaust all personal, sick, annual, and vacation leave before receiving unpaid leave, unless the employer’s policy provides otherwise.

The law requires confidentiality for leave-related information. Employers must keep such information confidential and not disclose such information unless disclosure is requested in writing by the employee, ordered by a court, otherwise required by law or in the course of a law enforcement investigation, or necessary to protect the safety of the employee or others employed at the workplace.

Covered employers must notify employees of their rights and responsibilities under the law, including those related to notification requirements and confidentiality.

Similar to other types of job-protected leave, employees who take domestic violence leave are entitled to restoration to their original jobs, or equivalent positions, and are protected from retaliation after taking leave.

We recommend that employers familiarize themselves with the requirements of the law, including its confidentiality provisions, and consult with counsel to prepare a domestic violence leave policy and update their handbooks accordingly.

By William E. Hannum III

As independent schools, colleges and universities begin the academic year, looking forward to teaching, learning, and growth in the coming year, I want to remind everyone to “Be careful out there!”

In the wake of the Penn State-Sandusky story years ago, New York Times columnist David Brooks offered a sobering reminder that “[u]nfortunately, none of us can safely make that assumption [that we will do the right thing in a moment of crisis]. Over the course of history — during the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide or the street beatings that happen in American neighborhoods — the same pattern has emerged. Many people do not intervene. Very often they see but they don’t see.”

For that reason alone, we strongly encourage schools to train themselves (students, faculty, and staff) on the kinds of behaviors that are expected at your school, and the kinds of behaviors that are unacceptable. For all educational institutions, this training is an excellent idea.

Now – early in the new academic year – is an ideal time for it. This past July, a New York Times article described the most dangerous stretch for new college students: “the Red Zone, a period of vulnerability for sexual assaults, beginning when freshmen first walk onto campus until Thanksgiving break.”

Of course, for colleges and universities, and other schools that receive federal funding, much of this sort of training is also legally required, under Title IX.

However, age-appropriate training for all students is increasingly recognized as a now-obvious “best practice.” A recent article in the Boston Globe extols the virtues of in-person training, even in middle school, to educate students earlier in their development and maturation: “we should be sending the message earlier — reaching boys in middle school, when the hormones kick in.”

Many SHPC attorneys have just returned from conducting these kinds of trainings for schools (e.g., boundary training for faculty and staff; and anti-bullying, cyber-bullying and appropriate use of social media training for middle school and high school students). These training programs are incredibly well-received by not only the schools, faculty, and staff – but also by the students – as these seminars provide a safe place to talk about challenging situations and sensitive topics.

 So, as you look forward to a fantastic year, remember to protect your students, and faculty and staff, as well. Not only during the Red Zone (between now and Thanksgiving), but also for the entire year.

Remind everyone what it means to be careful out there. That way, if something bad does happen, someone among your students, faculty and staff will really see it and know what to do about it.

By Sara Goldsmith Schwartz

With the beginning of the academic year underway or imminent, many students are returning to campus for pre-season athletic training. This school year, however, many schools and student-athletes will be governed by new (and perhaps improved) concussion protocols.

Combatting concussions has become a forefront issue in school athletics. Across the nation, legislatures, student athletic associations, and schools are responding to the demand for more comprehensive concussion policies to better protect student-athletes. Indeed, as of January 2014, every state and the District of Columbia had passed legislation regulating the prevention and management of student-athlete traumatic head injuries. In March, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) released a new position statement on the management of sports concussions and offered comprehensive guidelines. And just over the summer, California’s governor signed a law that not only limits the number of tackling practice sessions for young football players—to only two, 90-minute full-contact practices per season—but the law also requires one week on the bench for all student-athletes who suffer a concussion.

Although concussion management laws vary from state-to-state, they generally share three pillars—a return-to-play rule, an informed consent requirement, and an education and training obligation. The return-to-play rules regulate the circumstances in which a student-athlete suspected of having a concussion or head injury must be removed from play and when he or she can resume participating in athletics.

Baseline testing is another tool to help manage sports-related concussions. By requiring students to have a pre-season exam to measure balance and brain functioning, medical professionals can better identify and diagnose post-exam head injuries. While no states currently require baseline testing, Rhode Island strongly encourages all youth sports programs (including those operated by private schools) to adopt the practice; and Massachusetts requires public schools and schools that are members of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association to mandate that student-athletes provide head injury medical histories.

At independent schools, administrators, coaches, medical support personnel, students, and parents all play a significant role in protecting student-athletes. To help achieve their goal, we recommend including the following components in a comprehensive head injury policy:

• An action plan policy for all students participating in interscholastic athletics;
• Protocols for head injuries, including Return to Activity guidelines;
• Education for parents and students, coaches, medical support employees, and other relevant persons about recognizing and managing traumatic head injuries;
• Requests for student-athlete head injury histories;
• Mandatory baseline testing for all student-athletes;
• Recordkeeping of all head injuries occurring on and off campus; and
• Policies for students who are suffering from concussions.

In addition, we recommend updating Athletics Handbooks to address concussion management and other issues such as medical emergencies, practice guidelines, and academic policies related to participation in athletics.

Please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Firm’s Education Practice Group if you have any questions about best practices for student-athlete head injury policies and protocols.