SB195 - Healthy Workplace Act Summary

• Establishes harassment, intimidation, or bullying in the workplace as an unlawful employment practice, defined as acts that substantially interfere with work performance or create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.

• Provides employees with a civil cause of action against employers or coworkers who commit workplace harassment, with a one-year statute of limitations and potential remedies including injunctions, medical expenses, pain and suffering compensation, emotional distress damages, punitive damages, and attorneys' fees.

• Requires all employers to adopt and implement a comprehensive anti-bullying policy by January 1, 2016, including reporting procedures, investigation protocols, retaliation prohibitions, and employee training on policy implementation.

• Establishes affirmative defenses: employers may defend against violations if they exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct the practice; employees may defend if they unreasonably failed to use corrective opportunities or acted under employer direction with threat of adverse employment action.

• Authorizes the Commissioner of Labor to adopt rules implementing the act and assess $500 civil penalties against employers who knowingly cause workers' compensation claims to be improperly paid through health insurance instead of workers' compensation coverage.