Bryce Covert has written an excellent short article in ThinkProgress about laws (or the lack thereof) which forbid employment discrimination against victims of domestic violence.   Only six states have such laws (Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, New York, Oregon, and Rhode Island), and Covert prefaces his article with an example of why such laws are needed.

“Last week, Carie Charlesworth, a teacher in California and a victim of domestic violence, was fired from her job because her abusive husband invaded the school parking lot and put the school on lockdown. While her abuser was sent to prison, she was also punished for his crime by losing her employment.”

Covert offers a number of valuable links to statistics, studies and laws.  He says that “The laws are sparse, but the abuse at work is not.  One study found that nearly three-quarters of abused women were harassed by their partner while at work. Homicide is a leading cause of workplace deaths for women, second only to roadway incidents.”

This is an excellent summary of the pressing issue of domestic violence and employment discrimination.