2008 House Bill 5900

Mandate employers give crime victim time off for defendant’s trial

Introduced in the House

March 13, 2008

Introduced by Rep. Paul Condino (D-35)

To mandate that employers with at least 26 employees grant an employee who has been a crime victim up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to attend the trial of the defendant.

Referred to the Committee on Judiciary

April 9, 2008

Reported without amendment

Without amendment and with the recommendation that the bill pass.

April 16, 2008

Substitute offered by Rep. Paul Condino (D-35)

To replace the previous version of the bill with one that revises details but does not change the substance of the bill as previously described.

The substitute passed by voice vote

Amendment offered by Rep. Tonya Schuitmaker (R-80)

To limit the scope of this bill to employers with more than 50 employees.

The amendment failed by voice vote

Amendment offered by Rep. Tonya Schuitmaker (R-80)

To reduce the leave time the bill would mandate by the amount of leave an employee has already taken under a law that mandates employee leave on the birth or adoption of a child.

The amendment failed by voice vote

Amendment offered by Rep. Bruce Caswell (R-58)

To place a cap on attorney contingency fees in lawsuits filed by a criminal victim against the perpetrator.

The amendment failed by voice vote

April 22, 2008

Amendment offered by Rep. Tonya Schuitmaker (R-80)

To limit the mandate to an employee who has been on the job for at least a year.

The amendment passed by voice vote

Amendment offered by Rep. Tonya Schuitmaker (R-80)

To not require an employer to grant the bill would otherwise mandate if the employee's absense would create an undue hardship on the business.

The amendment passed by voice vote

Substitute offered

To replace the previous version of the bill with one that includes cap on attorney contingency fees in lawsuits filed by a criminal victim against the perpetrator, and limits the scope of this bill to employers with more than 50 employees.

The substitute failed 49 to 58 (details)

Amendment offered by Rep. Tonya Schuitmaker (R-80)

To eliminate a provision that would require a prosecutor to notify a victim of his or her rights under the bill's proposed mandate, and require a court to take the victim's work schedule into consideration when scheduling a proceeding.

The amendment passed by voice vote

Passed in the House 98 to 9 (details)

Received in the Senate

April 24, 2008

Referred to the Committee on Commerce and Tourism