Man Vows to Kill Wife, Employer Sends Her Home

That's when the state stepped in
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 19, 2015 9:34 AM CST
Man Vows to Kill Wife, Employer Sends Her Home
Bon-Ton has now changed its policies.   (Shutterstock)

New York's attorney general says a department store has agreed to change its policies to better accommodate domestic violence victims in an agreement that "stands as a model for other employers." Jodi Porter explains that she showed up to work at a Bon-Ton store in Williamsville, NY, on Oct. 9, and informed store security that her estranged husband had threatened to kill her the day before, per the New York Times. The store initially put a plan in place to allow her to work safely, but then her manager sent her home, saying, "You're a threat to the store," per Porter's account to WKBW. That's one of the the worst things an employer can do in that situation, says the legal director of a group that helps domestic violence victims, and Porter adds that it "made me feel like a victim all over again."

When Porter next heard from her manager, she says she was told she could return to work if she got a protective order against her husband—a difficult task considering he would need to be served with paperwork but had fled when a warrant was issued for his arrest. Porter called the attorney general's office on Oct. 13. In a settlement under which Bon-Ton admitted no wrongdoing, the store agreed to change its policies so that abuse victims aren't required to get a protective order to come to work, the AG says. The store also will educate its workers about protections for abuse victims under state law. (A judge made headlines when she sent an abuse victim to jail.)

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