HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1230        FILED ON: 1/14/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1728

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Peter V. Kocot

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act prohibiting the bullying of public school employees.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1230        FILED ON: 1/14/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1728

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

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An Act prohibiting the bullying of public school employees.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 149 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following section (e):

(1) No employee of the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions shall be subjected to an abusive or hostile work environment. An abusive work environment exists when an employer, acting through its employees, officers, or agents with intent to cause pain or distress to an employee, subjects that employee to physical, verbal, or non-verbal conduct that is threatening, humiliating, or intimidating in nature, or involves the repeated use of derogatory remarks, insults, or epithets, or intentionally sabotages or undermines the employee’s work performance, and causes physical harm, psychological harm, or both. A hostile environment exists when the work environment is permeated with intimidation, ridicule, or insult that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the employee’s employment.

(2) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer under this section to (a) create, maintain, or permit an abusive work environment, (b) permit the continuation of a hostile work environment by failing to promptly respond to and investigate reports that the conditions of a hostile work environment exist or failing to take affirmative steps to reduce or eliminate the cause of the hostile environment, or (c) implement or threaten to implement a personnel decision or action which causes or furthers such environments. A court may enjoin the implementation or continuation of any practices that would enable such work environments to persist and order any other relief that is deemed appropriate, including but not limited to, reinstatement, reassignment, removal of the offending party from the complainant’s work environment, back pay, front pay, damages, and attorney’s fees.

(3) (a) This section shall be enforced by a private right of action. Nothing in this section shall supersede rights and obligations provided under collective bargaining laws and regulations.

(b) The remedies provided in this section shall be in addition to any remedies provided under any other law, and nothing in this chapter shall relieve any person from any liability, duty, penalty or punishment provided by any other law, except that if an employee receives workers’ compensation for medical costs for the same injury or illness pursuant to both this chapter and the workers’ compensation law, or compensation under both this chapter and that law in cash payments for the same period of time not working as a result of the compensable injury or illness or the unlawful employment practice, the payments of workers’ compensation shall be reimbursed from compensation paid under this chapter.