25 Investigates: Better job protection for domestic violence survivors dies on Beacon Hill, again

A change to Massachusetts law to improve “on the job” protections for victims of domestic violence has died in the State House. But some lawmakers are scrambling to revive it once again.

This is legislation that 25 Investigates has followed for the last three and a half years over 3 legislative sessions . It would require that all Massachusetts workers get 15 days of leave, paid or unpaid, if they are recovering after an incident of domestic violence.

It was inspired by a 31-year-old Webster woman, Amanda Dabrowski . In 2019, Amanda was attacked by a coworker she briefly dated.

She fought him off and escaped. But she needed medical care and time to recover.

As 25 Investigates has documented , Amanda was fired within two days of that attack.

We’ve been there for multiple legislative sessions as her family has been trying to close a legal loophole that only extends domestic violence work protections to full-time employees, not contracted workers, which Amanda was at the time of the attack.

As we told you in May , this proposed change passed unanimously in the state Senate as a budget amendment.

25 Investigates has learned it was dropped during a closed-door budget reconciliation with the house. But one of the bills’ sponsors, state Senator Ryan Fattman is determined to keep it alive.

“I feel very strongly that we’re going to be able to move this in the Senate and get it over to the House, and we hope the House will take a legitimate look at it and take it up,” said Fattman (R-Sutton).

“So how confident are you that those lawmakers will get this to a vote in the other chamber,” asked investigative reporter and anchor Kerry Kavanaugh.

“Well, I used to be in the House, so I still know people over there, and I have a tremendous amount of confidence in the colleagues that I work with every single day, from Joe McKenna to the Speaker Mariano. I think these people care about people. This is why they do the job. And I think very much that when they see it before them, they’re going to pass it,” Fattman said.

25 Investigates will continue to track the progress of this now stand-alone bill. Fattman believes it could go the Senate for a full vote the first week of August.

‘It was not fair’: Mass. family pushes for domestic violence protections for all workers

If you have followed our reporting, you will recall that the same person who attacked Amanda Dabrowski eventually took her life. Carlos Asencio was convicted of her murder last year .

Amanda’s family has hoped for several legislative sessions now that updated law would be their daughter’s legacy.

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