SUPPORT THE BILL

The Healthy Workplace Bill
Massachusetts has joined the race to become the first state in the union to enact the Healthy Workplace Bill, legislation that provides targets of severe workplace bullying with a legal cause of action.

 

Last session, State Senator and Assistant Majority Leader Joan Menard filed the Healthy Workplace Bill, titled “An Act addressing workplace bullying, mobbing, and harassment, without regard to protected class status.” This legislative session, the bill was filed by Representative Ellen Story (D-Amherst) and Senator Katherine Clark (D-Melrose) and designated as House Bill Number 2310 and Senate Bill Number 916.

Co-sponsors include:
Denise Andrews (D-Orange)
Nick Collins (D-Boston)
Gloria L. Fox (D-Roxbury)
Kevin G. Honan (D-Brighton)
Louis L. Kafka (D-Stoughton)
Kay Khan (D-Newton)
Peter V. Kocot (D-Northampton)
John W. Scibak (D-South Hadley)
Frank I. Smizik (D-Brookline)
Benjamin Swan (D-Springfield)
Alice K. Wolf (D-Cambridge)

The Healthy Workplace Bill creates a legal claim for bullying targets who can establish that they were subjected to malicious, health-harming behavior. It also provides defenses for employers who act preventively and responsively with regard to bullying and includes provisions to discourage frivolous claims.

The Massachusetts Healthy Workplace Advocates had a successful legislative hearing on Thursday, July 14, 2011. Individuals spoke at the hearing and/or submitted written testimony and letters of support. Many thanks to David Yamada, Greg Sorozan, and SEIU/NAGE for their tireless efforts and continued leadership on this bill.

Read the full bill »

 

What happened in 2009-2010:

• Senator Joan M. Menard, a Senate leader, sponsored this bill.
• The union SEIU/NAGE and the Massachusetts Teachers Union formally supported this bill.
• The Healthy Workplace Advocates spoke at a legislative hearing of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development on January 27, 2010.
• The bill was refiled for the two-year 2011-2012 legislative session by Representative Ellen Story (D-Amherst) and Senator Katherine Clark (D-Melrose) and designated as House Bill Number 2310 and Senate Bill Number 916.
  

What happened in 2011-2012:

• This legislative session, the bill was filed by Representative Ellen Story (D-Amherst) and Senator Katherine Clark (D-Melrose) and designated as House Bill Number 2310 and Senate Bill Number 916. Eleven co-sponsors supported the bill this year thanks to our advocates contacting their legislators directly.
• The bill went in front of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development on July 14, 2011. Encourage committee members to support this bill »
  Read the CBS Boston article (July 14, 2011) »
  Read the Boston Herald article (July 15, 2011) »
• The bill passed out of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development on February 29, 2012 and onto the House Committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling.
• The local union AFSCME (Boston Public Library employees) formally supported the bill.
• The House Committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling favorably read out H. 2310 on April 4, 2012 and moved it directly to the House Floor for a second reading.

What needs to happen next in order for the bill to become law:

• If approved, the bill moves onto the Engrossment Committee at the third reading.
• If approved, the bill moves onto the House Chamber and the House Ways and Means.
• The bill gets enacted by the legislature.
• The bill gets signed by the governor. Sixty days after the governor's signature, the bill becomes law.