The SAFE for Survivors Act: Your Workplace Rights as a Survivor, Explained

Reviewed by Survivor Rights Center · Updated 2026-07-06

What the SAFE for Survivors Act Would Establish

The Supporting Affordability, Flexibility, and Equality for Survivors Act is a federal workplace protection bill advanced by the House Ways and Means Committee in 2026. The core provision is a federal guarantee of 40 days of job-protected leave annually for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Of those 40 days, 10 would be paid leave; the remaining 30 would be unpaid but job-protected, meaning the employer could not terminate or discipline an employee for taking them. The leave can be used for any purpose related to addressing the abuse: attending legal proceedings, seeking medical or mental health care, relocating for safety, or participating in civil litigation.

Beyond leave, the bill requires employers to provide reasonable workplace accommodations to survivor employees when those accommodations would not impose an undue hardship on the employer. This provision mirrors the reasonable accommodation framework that exists under disability rights law and applies it to the distinct needs of survivors. Examples include adjusted work schedules to accommodate legal appointments, changes in work location when the abuser works in the same building or area, or modified job duties during a period of recovery.

The unemployment benefit provision addresses a specific gap in current law that affects survivors who must leave employment due to abuse. Under most state unemployment compensation rules, employees who voluntarily separate from employment are not eligible for unemployment benefits. Survivors who leave because their workplace is unsafe -- or because continuing employment in their current situation is impossible -- are treated the same as employees who quit by choice. The SAFE for Survivors Act would create an exception, allowing survivors to access benefits when leaving is connected to abuse and its consequences.

What States Currently Provide and Where Gaps Exist

Many states have enacted some version of survivor workplace protections without waiting for federal legislation. As of 2026, the majority of states have enacted at least some form of safe leave -- also called domestic violence leave or survivor leave -- that provides job protection for employees who need time to address the consequences of abuse. The scope of these state laws varies considerably: some provide paid leave, others only unpaid; some cover all employers, others only those above a certain employee threshold; some include stalking and criminal harassment, others focus only on domestic violence.

Unemployment benefit access for survivors who must leave employment is less uniformly available at the state level. A smaller number of states have explicitly exempted abuse-related separations from the voluntary-separation disqualification rule. In states without this exemption, a survivor who leaves a job for safety reasons may be denied unemployment benefits and left without income at precisely the moment when financial stability is most critical.

The federal bill would establish a floor: a minimum set of protections that applies in every state regardless of what that state's law provides. States that have enacted stronger protections would retain them; states with weaker or no protections would be required to meet the federal minimum. This is the structure that federal workplace protection laws typically use, and it is the mechanism that makes federal legislation meaningful even for survivors who live in states with existing protections.

How to Find Out What Protections Apply to You Right Now

The SAFE for Survivors Act has not yet been enacted into federal law. The current landscape is a patchwork of state laws, local ordinances, and existing federal protections such as the Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides unpaid leave for certain medical conditions and may apply in some abuse-related circumstances. Understanding what currently applies requires looking at your specific state and employer.

State domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions are among the best resources for information about what your state currently provides. Most state coalitions publish information about survivor workplace rights, housing protections, and other legal remedies that apply in their state. Your state attorney general's office may also publish a survivor resources guide. For employment-specific questions, an employment attorney who handles workplace discrimination or employee rights matters can advise on what the law currently requires of your specific employer.

The Survivor Rights Center's purpose is to explain rights and statutes in plain language so survivors can make informed decisions. This article is general educational information, not legal advice, and does not create any professional relationship. For legal advice specific to your situation, please consult a licensed attorney in your state. RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline is available at 800-656-4673, free and confidential, around the clock.

7 Things to Document if You Face Workplace Issues Related to Abuse

Documentation is the foundation of any workplace rights claim. If you are facing employment-related problems because of abuse or because you requested leave or accommodations, these records matter.

1. Written record of every leave request: Date, time, method of communication, and content of every request you made for leave or accommodation. If the request was verbal, follow it up in writing by email to create a contemporaneous record.
2. Your employer's response in writing: Keep all emails, letters, or written policies your employer provided in response to a leave or accommodation request. If responses were only verbal, document them yourself with dates and the substance of what was said.
3. Performance history before and after disclosure: Retaliation is often disguised as poor performance reviews, discipline, or changed duties. Gather records of your performance evaluations, commendations, and any discipline that post-dates your disclosure of survivor status.
4. Documentation of the abuse itself: A protective order, police report, medical record, or letter from a domestic violence advocate can help establish the abuse-related basis for a leave request. Not all state laws require this documentation, but it strengthens any subsequent claim.
5. Contemporaneous notes: Write down what happened, who said what, and when, immediately after significant events. Date-stamped notes written close in time to the events they describe are among the most credible evidence in employment disputes.
6. Your employee handbook and leave policies: What your employer's own policies say about leave, accommodations, and retaliation is part of the picture. Keep a copy of the relevant policies as they existed at the time of the relevant events.
7. Records of any unemployment benefit denial: If you left employment and were denied unemployment benefits on voluntary-separation grounds, keep the denial notice. This documentation is relevant both to any appeal and to any advocacy for legislative change.

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