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For Connecticut State residents only
Opposition to SB 371
Editorial in the Hartford Courant
Lawyers' Full-Employment Bill
March 18 2007
Bullying is an all-too-common occurrence in the workplace. And although there's no disputing its potential for creating an oppressive work environment, the courts aren't the best arena for resolving such problems.
The General Assembly is considering legislation that would make it a crime for a boss or co-worker to repeatedly use hostile and offensive conduct considered "threatening, intimidating or humiliating."
The bill is modeled on the Healthy Workplace initiative, a national movement to rid the workplace of bullying - typically, by bosses against their employees. At least a half-dozen other states are reported to be considering similar legislation.
There are several problems with this bill. It's vague about the kind of behavior it means to target. It also fails to provide an interim step for finding a remedy short of going to court, a flaw that could expose businesses and workers to costly nuisance lawsuits (as if Connecticut isn't already seen as being business-unfriendly enough).
But the central problem with this legislation is philosophical. Over the years, Connecticut has adopted laws intended to protect students from being bullied by their peers. It has also devised laws to protect people from being discriminated against in the workplace on the basis of their race, age or gender. The thinking is that, as a society, we benefit when people are treated fairly and given an equal opportunity to earn a place at the table.
But once we arrive, there's no guarantee we're going to like each other's table manners.
Lawyers will no doubt like this bill. But courts would be deluged with complaints asking judges and juries to parse the daily interactions of workers and bosses.
We owe it to ourselves and each other to resolve those differences directly and civilly - without the courts.
Copyright 2007, Hartford Courant
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/hc-bullying.artmar18,0,3447250.story
Commentary from the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA)
which considers SB 371 an "anti-job" bill
Workplace bullying
Under another bill, SB-371, employers would have to police -- and be accountable for -- employees' workplace "bullying" actions such as verbal abuse, intimidation, humiliation and any conduct meant to undermine another's work performance. A Hartford Courant editorial (see above) said "Lawyers will no doubt like this bill. But courts would be deluged with complaints asking judges and juries to parse the daily interactions of workers and bosses."
The bill is riddled with problems for employers by making them responsible for employee conduct that may at best be hard to discern and impractical to prevent. Connecticut businesses are burdened with an increasing number of employment laws and regulations that already make personnel management a prickly thorn. Bills such as SB-371 only increase that burden.
ÝRead comments by Kia D. Floyd, Assistant Counsel, CBIA re: SB 371 at public hearing before the Labor and Public Employee Committee.
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