The Healthy Workplace Bill in Massachusetts: A progress report Aug 2
by David Yamada, Mind The Workplace
LINK

The just-concluded 2011-12 session of the Massachusetts legislature encompassed significant progress in moving the anti-bullying Healthy Workplace Bill (MA House No. 2310) toward eventual enactment into law. Although we still have plenty of work to do, there were many positive developments during this session.

Six signs

Here are what I consider to be the highlights:

1. Third reading — Most importantly, the HWB made it to a stage known as “third reading” in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. This means it jumped successfully through two committees and was poised for a floor vote of all the representatives. This was an excellent showing for a bill in its first full session. Less than a quarter of filed bills reach this stage.

2. Political leadership — Buoyed by the leadership of our lead sponsors, Rep. Ellen Story and Sen. Katherine Clark, we had a dozen legislators signing on as sponsors. Many of them testified at the public hearing on the bill last year, which attracted statewide media coverage.

3. Advocates — Our grassroots advocacy group grew to some 3,000 members, many of whom made calls and visits and sent e-mails to their legislators urging adoption of the HWB. This group is becoming a known quantity in the State House.

4. Labor support — In addition to the critically important, steadfast assistance of SEIU/NAGE leadership, staff, and members, we attracted additional support from organized labor, especially the Massachusetts Teachers Association.

5. Targets’ voices — More and more targets of workplace bullying are sharing their stories publicly, an easy-to-miss sign that this issue is no longer a silent epidemic, but rather a recognized form of abuse. These voices lend critical support to the HWB advocacy efforts, as personal accounts are the most powerful form of persuasion with our elected officials.

6. Opposition — We began to attract visible opposition in the form of an editorial in the Boston Herald and an organized letter-writing campaign claiming the HWB is bad for business. The silver lining here, and it’s a big one, is that we’re being taken seriously. Workplace bullying legislation is no longer a novelty.

What’s next?

Quite simply, we’re not letting up. In fact, we’re motivated to build on our success. The momentum is coming not only from within our advocacy group, but also from elected representatives who want to see the Healthy Workplace Bill become law.

We’ll be holding planning meetings this summer and early fall, and then redoubling our advocacy and public education work in preparation for the next session.

Advocacy in state legislative settings requires steadfast commitment and patience. It is rare for bills representing significant, new public policy ideas to sail through the legislature. Usually it takes several sessions to reach the point of being taken seriously. I’d say we’re now slightly ahead of that pace in terms of receptivity toward the Healthy Workplace Bill in Massachusetts.

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To become part of the Healthy Workplace Bill advocacy effort in Massachusetts, go to our website (here), visit our blog (here), and join our Facebook page (here).

Those from elsewhere who wish to become HWB advocates in their home states can go here for more information.

Go here for my 2010 law review article explaining the basic provisions of the HWB and the history of efforts to enact workplace bullying legislation in the U.S.

Neal Dias and Bullying In the Workplace

Bill protects employees from workplace bullying
By Andrew Carden, Staff writer
LINK

May 07, 2012
Advocates and lawmakers last week called on the Legislature to pass the Healthy Workplace Bill, geared toward cracking down on workplace bullying in New York state.

The legislation (S.4289/A.4258), sponsored by Sen. Diane Savino, D-Staten Island, and Assemblyman Steve Englebright, D-Setauket, establishes a civil cause of action for employees who are subjected to an abusive work environment. It also provides legal incentives for employers to prevent and respond to mistreatment of employees at work.

Neal W. Dias, a 46-year-old former U.S. Marine and Massachusetts resident who witnessed workplace bullying while employed at Verizon, spoke at a press conference last week in support of the legislation.

In 2004, Dias was promoted to an upper management position at Verizon, spearheading the company's first-ever Diversity Week. It was around the time of his promotion, however, that Dias began witnessing Verizon employees being bullied by those in management.

"I did what I thought was best and tried to halt the bullying that was taking place at Verizon and then it shifted to me," said Dias. "After standing up against the powers that be and trying to help others, I was targeted, harassed, bullied, discriminated against, endured racial harassment and eventually wrongfully terminated."

Dias has committed his life to helping others who have struggled with workplace bullying. His blog, "justicefor7," has garnered more than 1,000 comments during its mere few months of existence. He is in the midst of publishing a book, "Corporate Sabotage: The Fight for Justice," due for release later this year.

"I have helped to organize many in the fight against Verizon and other companies in the war against bullying in corporate America," said Dias. "I have helped to guide so many to resources to guide these victims in the fight against any form of harassment or discrimination in the workplace."

Robert W. Townsend, president of the Garden City Paraprofessional Association, said studies have shown that workers who are subjected to this type of "inappropriate and unnecessary" behavior are less productive and more likely to miss work, due to physical, emotional or mental harm caused by such treatment.

"No employer should engage in or otherwise tolerate this behavior and no worker should be subjected to such behavior," said Townsend. "The enactment of this legislation will provide the legal inducements necessary to encourage offending employers to halt this practice and persuade other employers to take a more activist role in discouraging this situation among workers."

Among the organizations endorsing the Healthy Workplace Bill are New York State AFL-CIO, New York State United Teachers and the Public Employees Federation.