OLR Bill Analysis
AN ACT CONCERNING STATE EMPLOYEES AND VIOLENCE AND BULLYING IN THE WORKPLACE.
This bill requires the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) to report annually, beginning by January 1, 2010, to the governor and the Labor and Public Employees Committee on the number and outcome of complaints of (1) workplace violence involving state employees and (2) abusive conduct occurring in the workplace between state employees. The report must include any recommendations for administrative or legislative action related to the complaints.
Under the bill, “abusive conduct” is conduct or a single act of a state employee in the workplace that is (1) performed with malice and (2) unrelated to the state's legitimate interest that a reasonable person would find hostile or offensive considering the severity, nature, and frequency of the conduct, or the severity and egregiousness of the single act. The bill provides examples of this. It specifies that “state employee” means all state agency personnel, but does not include contractors, subcontractors, or vendors of the state.
The bill gives the DAS commissioner, in consultation with other commissioners, until January 1, 2010 to establish policies and procedures for preventing, reporting, evaluating, and investigating workplace abusive conduct complaints. This must be done within existing budgetary resources.
By law, and unchanged by the bill, the DAS commissioner must provide an appropriate program for state employees regarding workplace stress and violence awareness, prevention, and preparedness.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2009
EXAMPLES OF ABUSIVE CONDUCT
The bill states that abusive conduct includes but is not limited to:
1. repeated infliction of verbal abuse such as the use of derogatory remarks, insults, and epithets;
2. verbal or physical conduct that a reasonable person would find threatening, intimidating, or humiliating; or
3. sabotaging or undermining a person's work performance.
CONSULTING WITH OTHER COMMISSIONERS
In establishing policies and procedures regarding abusive conduct in the workplace, the DAS commissioner, or her designee, must consult with the public safety, public works, and mental health and addiction services commissioners, or their designees. By law the commissioner must consult with public safety and mental health and addiction services commissioners, or their designees, to provide the appropriate workplace stress and violence prevention and preparedness program.
BACKGROUND
Anti-Violence in the Workplace Policy
In 1999, Executive Order No. 16 outlined a violence in the workplace prevention policy and directed all state agency personnel, contractors, and vendors to comply with it. It requires (1) employees who feel subjected to or witness violent, threatening, harassing, or intimidating behavior in their workplace to immediately report it and (2) managers and supervisors to contact their human resources office and take other appropriate steps.
After the executive order was issued the Statewide Security Management Council developed a comprehensive Violence in the Workplace Policy and Procedures Manual.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Labor and Public Employees Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute Change of Reference
Yea |
11 |
Nay |
0 |
(02/26/2009) |
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea |
10 |
Nay |
5 |
(03/30/2009) |