SAFE for Survivors Act of 2026
The provisions, in plain language.
Requires every covered employer to give each employee at least 40 work days of job-protected "safe leave" in a 12-month period to deal with domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, trafficking, or similar harm to themselves or a family member, at least 10 of those days paid; the leave can be used to get counseling, relocate, pursue legal action, get medical care, arrange childcare, access benefits, or otherwise recover safety and stability.
Lets a worker use safe leave with only an oral or written request, limits the proof an employer can demand (and only for absences over 3 days), bars requiring the worker to find their own replacement, and keeps all information about the abuse and the leave in strict confidence with health details held as confidential medical records.
Guarantees a worker returning from safe leave is restored to the same or an equivalent job with the same pay and benefits, and requires the employer to keep the worker's group health coverage in force during the leave.
Makes it illegal for an employer to fire, discriminate against, or retaliate against a worker for requesting or taking safe leave or for opposing or reporting violations, and creates a rebuttable presumption that any adverse action taken within 12 months of such leave is illegal retaliation.
Lets harmed workers sue employers in federal or state court for at least $1,000 or their lost wages, plus interest, equal liquidated damages, reinstatement, and attorney and expert-witness fees; authorizes the Secretary of Labor to investigate, sue, and recover on workers' behalf; and adds a $1,000-per-violation penalty payable to the government.
Makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to hire, fire, or otherwise discriminate against a person because they are (or are perceived to be) a victim of such violence, and extends these protections to private-sector, congressional, executive, and federal employees through Title VII-style powers and remedies.
Requires employers to provide reasonable workplace accommodations to survivor-employees (such as schedule changes, transfers, new contact information, locks or security measures, or leave) through an interactive process, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship, and bars retaliation for requesting one.
Makes survivors who leave or lose work because of the violence eligible for unemployment compensation by conditioning federal unemployment funding on states covering them, and lets states use federal TANF welfare funds to give survivors expedited short-term emergency cash benefits within seven days, effective by January 1, 2029.
Bars insurers from denying, canceling, surcharging, or limiting insurance (including health coverage) because a person is or may be a victim of such violence, protects victims' confidential information and location, and lets harmed people sue for injunctive relief, compensatory and punitive damages, or $5,000 per violation, with the Federal Trade Commission enforcing the rules.
Voids any pre-dispute arbitration agreement or joint-action waiver for claims under the leave, employment-discrimination, and insurance titles, so survivors keep the right to go to court and to bring class actions.
Funds a national public-awareness and employer-education campaign, authorizes related grants and studies, and reauthorizes $15,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 for the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act.
Who it helps · who it burdens.
Who it helps
- Workers who are survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or traffickingGain a new federal right to at least 40 days of job-protected leave (10 paid), reasonable workplace accommodations, protection from being fired or discriminated against, continued health coverage during leave, unemployment eligibility, and the ability to sue for damages.
Who it burdens
- Employers covered by the Civil Rights Act definitionTake on new mandatory duties: provide paid and unpaid safe leave, maintain health coverage during leave, make reasonable accommodations, restore jobs, keep abuse information confidential, and post notices; face lawsuits, liquidated damages, penalties, and a rebuttable presumption of retaliation for adverse actions within 12 months of leave.
- Insurers and self-insured employee-benefit plansAre barred from denying, canceling, surcharging, or limiting coverage based on a person's status as a victim, must adopt written privacy procedures and give written reasons for adverse actions, and face FTC enforcement plus private suits for damages or $5,000 per violation.
Who backs it
- Federal taxpayers and the U.S. TreasuryPay for a national outreach campaign, grants, studies, and $15,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2027-2031 reauthorizing the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, plus such sums as necessary for the unemployment grant program.
- State governments administering unemployment and welfare programsMust change unemployment statutes and policies to cover survivors as a condition of federal funding, and may redirect federal TANF welfare funds to pay expedited emergency benefits to survivors taking leave.