WORKPLACE BULLYING
What Is Workplace Bullying?
Roughly 40% of workers will experience workplace bullying during their work lives.
Harms To Workers and Their Families
Workplace bullying is health-endangering: targets suffer from anxiety disorders, hypertension,
increased risk of heart disease, digestive problems, clinical depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder-related symptoms.
Costs To Business
Workplace bullying is bad for business; it leads to decreased productivity, lower morale, increased
absenteeism, and attrition.
We Need A Law
The Healthy Workplace Bill is about human dignity at work. It's about the right to be let alone
to do your job and earn a living — without being bullied or mistreated.
Why we need to pass the Healthy Workplace Bill
SUPPORT THE BILL
Why We Need A Law
Cruelty at work should not be legal. Employers should not have the right to stomp workers into the ground. The Healthy
Workplace Bill is about human dignity at work. It's about the right to be let alone to do your job and earn a living —
without being bullied or mistreated.
The Healthy Workplace Bill fills a huge gap in the law.
Right now, it's perfectly legal for a boss to treat a worker with severe cruelty and for the employer to escape responsibility
for it. In fact, when employers are made aware of bullying situations, 60% of the time they either ignore the complaint
or make the situation worse.
Read the Boston Metro article from July 20, 2011 »
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 »
How To Support the Healthy Workplace Bill
What happened in 2009-2010:
What happened in 2011:
What needs to happen next in
order for the bill to become law: - The bill needs to pass the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development.
- The bill can move onto the Ways and Means Committee. The Ways and Means Committee reviews the bill and looks at
the bill's financial impact.
- If approved, the bill moves onto the Steering Policy and Scheduling Committee.
- If
approved, the bill moves into readings in the House of Respresentatives.
- 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.
Here's
how you can help, in order of effectiveness:
1. Contact your state senator and/or representative and urge him/her to support Senate Bill Number 916 or House Bill
Number 2310. Ask if they are willing to support the bill and if you can schedule a meeting with your senator or rep to explain your
personal story. Report the response to info@mahealthyworkplace.com.
Download the letter template »
2. Ask the members of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development to support the bill and to thank them for listening to our testimony in July. Use the easy tool to send messages directly to these legislators »
3. If you are a member of a group that might consider endorsing the Healthy
Workplace Bill, please reach out to the group about its possible support.
4.
If you know a target of severe workplace bullying who was unable to pursue a legal claim because of the inadequacy in current
law who would be willing to testify at a legislative hearing or otherwise share his/her story, e-mail david_yamada@yahoo.com.
5. Join a committee:
Health
Care
This committee reaches out to employees of Massachusetts hospitals. Its members let nurses and other
hospital staff know about the bill through Facebook and flyers in hospital lobbies, cafeterias, and break rooms across Massachusetts.
Higher Education
This committee reaches out to college
employees through Facebook and distributes flyers on colleges across Massachusetts. Its members also reach out to college
Democrat groups to get their help in getting the word out about the bill.
K-12 Education
This committee reaches out to K-12 teachers through the Massachusetts Teachers Association
and spreads the word through articles in teacher newsletters.
Non-Profits
This committee reaches out to grassroots organizations for their support of the bill and to encourage them
to ask their clients to support the bill. Its members also distribute flyers at targeted organizations across Massachusetts.
Support Staff
This committee reaches out to employment lawyers, lawyer
associations, law schools, psychologists, public health schools, and others who work regularly with those who have experienced
workplace bullying and encourages them to ask their clients to support the bill.
Public Awareness
This committee reaches out to bloggers who write
about workplace bullying and asks them to link to our website. Its members also distribute flyers on windshields at commuter
rail lots across Massachusetts and key neighborhoods in Boston. They also collect personal stories from those who have experienced
workplace bullying for press releases.
Interested in joining a committee?
E-mail info@mahealthyworkplace.com and let us know which committee(s) you'd like to help on.
6. Pass
around the Massachusetts Healthy Workplace Bill Fact Sheet or send this link to those who have experienced or witnessed
workplace bullying.
Download Version #1 »
Download Version #2 »
7. Join the Facebook group, Facebook page, or follow us on Twitter for updates on the progress of this bill.
8. Sign up for the Massachusetts
Workplace Bullying Law e-newsletter. E-mail info@mahealthyworkplace.com.
The Movement To Support the Workplace Bullying
Law
In recent years, healthy workplace advocate groups from sixteen U.S. states have supported anti-bullying legislation.
Find out how groups in other states are making a
difference:
California
Connecticut
Maryland
New York
Vermont
ABOUT US
The Massachusetts Healthy Workplace Advocates is a group of concerned
citizens who work to make severe workplace bullying illegal.
The two coordinators are:
Professor David Yamada
Suffolk University Law School
120 Tremont
Street
Boston, MA 02108
617.573.8543
david_yamada@yahoo.com
Gregory Sorozan
President, SEIU/NAGE Local 282
159
Burgin Parkway
Quincy, MA. 02169
781.662.1189
gsorozan@nage.org
www.nagelocal282.org
