In his own words, why Rep. Gilbert introduced the anti-bullying bill ...

"Oklahoma is an employment at will state. That means that an employer can fire you for any reason for cause, unless there is a collective bargaining agreement that spells out reasons for termination.

With the advent of the passage of so called "Right - to - Work" recently in Oklahoma, more and more employers have taken the attitude of "If you don't like it, you can just tough it, or find somewhere else to work." They know the employee has no other avenue of recourse for abusive actions by their supervisors or fellow employees.

Before I came to the legislature in 1997, I worked as a graphic artist for a company. It was not a pleasant work environment because no matter how good the job looked or how hard I worked on a project, my supervisor always found something wrong with it. It seemed as if I could never do a job good enough to please him. This is something that I always try to remember as I deal with my constituents, especially when it comes to workers' issues, not only in District 72 but across the state of Oklahoma. This is why I have filed HB2467. The employees across Oklahoma need some type of protection against all types of harassment in the work environment. Employers need to understand that when the work environment is pleasant, their employees are happier and more productive."