(a) No employer shall discharge, demote, deny a promotion, or discipline an employee because the employee took reasonable time off from work to obtain or attempt to obtain relief under this Chapter. An employee who is absent from the workplace shall follow the employer’s usual time-off policy or procedure, including advance notice to the employer, when required by the employer’s usual procedures, unless an emergency prevents the employee from doing so. An employer may require documentation of any emergency that prevented the employee from complying in advance with the employer’s usual time-off policy or procedure, or any other information available to the employee which supports the employee’s reason for being absent from the workplace.

(b) The Commissioner of Labor shall enforce the provisions of this section according to Article 21 of Chapter 95 of the N.C. Gen. Stat., including the rules and regulations issued pursuant to the Article. (2004-186, s. 18.1.)