Connecticut lawmakers on Tuesday unanimously approved expanding and modernizing the state’s workplace harassment laws that increase employer-employee communications regarding illicit workplace behavior.
The Appropriations Committee voted in favor of House Bill 5043, which would require employers with three or more workers to communicate the dangers of harassment. It also tasks employers with 15 or more employees to conduct annual awareness and anti-harassment training and education to all supervisors.
The proposal also updates the training sessions to include education that encourages bystander intervention and methods of preventing workplace harassment.
The committee’s approval moves the bill to the House of Representatives.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said the proposal would make Connecticut a more “attractive place to live,” which would further improve the state’s workforce. The bill’s bipartisan support, the governor said, demonstrates the importance of providing a safe workplace environment.
The legislation comes weeks after U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty announced that she will not run for re-election following a controversy over how she handled alleged sexual misconduct by her former chief of staff, Tony Baker.
