Sponsors (4)
Official title: To promote the economic security and safety of survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 21, 2026 by Debbie Dingell · Last progress May 21, 2026
The bill substantially expands legal recognition, safety protections, paid leave, and access to services for survivors of domestic violence and related harms, but does so at notable cost and administrative complexity that may increase burdens on employers, insurers, state agencies, and could spur more litigation.
Employees who are survivors (parents, low-income workers, federal employees): gain up to 40 days per year of job-protected leave (with at least 10 paid days by employee choice), continuation of group health coverage, reinstatement and anti‑retaliation protections, and reasonable accommodations to address safety, medical, legal, housing, or counseling needs.
Survivors and service providers: get expanded access to victim services and more direct grant dollars (by capping admin spend), plus federal outreach and model training/technical assistance to improve trauma-informed service delivery.
People subjected to nonconsensual intimate images (including realistic deepfakes) and other coerced image-sharing: gain explicit statutory recognition as qualifying acts of violence and an affirmative-consent standard, enabling access to services and stronger legal protections.
Employers, insurers, and taxpayers: face substantial new costs and administrative burdens (paid leave, accommodations, confidentiality protections, altered insurance practices, expanded benefit eligibility) that could be passed to consumers, reduce hiring, or strain public budgets.
Businesses, insurers, and public agencies: will face increased litigation and liability exposure (private rights of action, statutory damages, FTC enforcement, removal of arbitration and class-waiver defenses), raising legal costs and uncertainty.
State agencies and victim-service organizations: could be strained by higher demand for services and by new administrative/training responsibilities while key funding authorizations are limited or administrative dollars are capped, risking insufficient capacity for implementation and support.
Based on analysis of 10 sections of legislative text.
Creates federal safe‑leave (up to 40 days, 10 paid), bans certain arbitration for related claims, expands UI eligibility for survivors, and bars insurer discrimination against victims.
Creates new federal protections for people who experience domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and related harms. It requires employers to provide up to 40 workdays of “safe leave” (at least 10 paid) per year, bars certain arbitration clauses for claims under the law, expands unemployment insurance eligibility for survivors who leave work because of violence, restricts insurer actions against victims, sets confidentiality and training requirements, and strengthens civil‑rights style workplace protections and definitions (including protections for deepfakes and nonconsensual intimate images). The bill also narrows how grant funds may be used for administration and evaluation and includes a severability clause.