Domestic violence — mental or physical abuse at the hands of an intimate partner — often affects the victims’ ability to work. According to Legal Momentum, an advocacy group, victims of domestic violence lose an average of 137 hours of work a year. Victims of intimate partner violence lose the equivalent of 32,000 full-time jobs due to abuse. Some need time off from work to seek medical attention, seek a restraining order, or relocate to a safe place. Others are prevented from getting to work when an abuser disables or takes the car, sabotages childcare arrangements, or leaves the victim without cash to use public transportation.

Discrimination that occurs because an individual is, or is perceived to be, a victim of domestic violence includes any negative action against a victim of domestic violence, and can include being fired, harassed, or not hired for a job due to domestic violence. This discrimination may be a result of having to take time off work to participate in, or prepare for court proceedings related to domestic violence against the employee or a family member. Discrimination may also result from a disruption, or a threat of disruption, in the workplace by someone who has committed or threatened domestic violence against the employee.