In committee
SAFE for Survivors Act of 2026
This bill creates federal job and financial protections for workers dealing with domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or related abuse. It requires employers to provide up to 40 days of job-protected leave per year—including at least 10 paid days—for safety planning, medical care, or legal needs, and requires them to make reasonable workplace safety accommodations. The measure also makes it illegal for employers, government benefit programs, and insurance companies to discriminate against survivors or drop their coverage.
People affected—Not determinable from the operative text; while congressional findings cite national statistics on violence prevalence, the operative provisions broadly apply to virtually all employers, employees, benefit recipients, and insured individuals nationwide without specifying an exact population count.
Fiscal magnitude$75.0Mprovisional · pending reviewThe text explicitly authorizes $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031 ($75,000,000 total) for specialized services under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act; other provisions authorize 'such sums as may be necessary'.
Reach80provisional · pending reviewrigor: heuristic llm
What this bill touches.
Market protections+50Workplace standards+70Personal data & privacy+45Courts & liability+55Welfare & anti-poverty+50Childcare & leave+60
Who it helps · who it burdens.
Who it helps
- Employees who are victims of qualifying violence and their family membersGrants up to 40 workdays of safe leave per year (including at least 10 paid days) with job restoration and health insurance continuation, prohibits workplace discrimination and retaliation, mandates reasonable workplace safety accommodations, and provides private rights of action in court.
- Victim services organizations and domestic violence coalitionsExpands eligibility for federal grants under the Violence Against Women Act to provide workplace assistance and resource materials, and authorizes grants to develop training programs for unemployment agency staff.
Who it burdens
- EmployersRequires them to provide up to 40 days of safe leave (including 10 paid days), maintain health benefits during leave, grant reasonable safety accommodations unless an undue hardship is shown, post informational notices, and subjects them to civil lawsuits and penalties for noncompliance.
- Insurance companies and health benefit plansProhibits denying coverage, raising premiums, terminating policies, or limiting claims because an individual is a victim of qualifying violence, bars non-consensual disclosure of victim addresses or medical status, and subjects insurers to lawsuits and FTC enforcement.
- Public assistance agenciesProhibits denying, reducing, or cutting off benefits based on an individual's status as a victim of violence, requires safety accommodations for applicants/recipients, and creates liability for lost benefits plus punitive damages up to $100,000 for violations.
- State unemployment agenciesRequires state programs to provide unemployment compensation to individuals who leave employment due to qualifying violence and requires staff training on handling such claims.