BE HEARD in the Workplace Act Aims to End Harassment

Everyone deserves to feel safe at work, and no one should have to experience sexual harassment and assault on the job (or anywhere, of course). New national legislation aims to make that more of a reality for workers throughout the country: the Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination in the Workplace Act, or the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act.

Introduced in April by Representative Katherine Clark (MA) and Senator Patty Murray (WA) and cosponsored by a group of lawmakers that includes Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MA), the bill “takes critical steps to ensure businesses have more resources to prevent harassment and workers have more support when they seek accountability and justice,” as announced in their press release.

The problem

Sexual harassment is pervasive and affects countless workers. Studies estimate that 70–90% of the time sexual harassment occurs, it isn’t reported to the employer or a fair employment agency. At highest risk of of sexual harassment in the workplace are low-status workers; those that lack legal citizenship documentation; teens and young adults; lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and/or transgender people; and people in workplaces that are physically isolated or dominated by a different gender. They may be the server at your local restaurant, the farmworker who picked the fruit on your table, or your queer coworker.

While survivors of workplace sexual harassment do have options, they often feel overwhelmed, unsafe, and unsure of what to do next. Workplaces need to offer more support, improve systems to hold offenders accountable, and implement effective policies and programs to change their culture to prevent sexual harassment and assault.

“While the #MeToo movement has made vital progress in raising awareness and making it easier for some survivors to come forward, clearly more needs to be done. We all depend on our jobs to support ourselves and our families. And we often depend on connections at work for both professional growth and social support,” says Katia Santiago-Taylor, BARCC’s advocacy and legislative affairs manager. “We hope that the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act will increase the support survivors of workplace sexual harassment can access and will help change the culture so fewer people are forced to make the impossible choice between their safety and their livelihood.”

What the bill will do

In introducing the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act, Senator Patty Murray said, “No matter who you are or where you work—whether you are the only woman on the board, or a janitor, or farm worker, you should be treated fairly, respectfully, and with dignity. This should be true no matter your gender or race, your religion or sexual orientation or age—and regardless of whether you have a disability or are a veteran.”

So what does the bill do to make this happen?

• Invests in research about the impact of workplace harassment
• Requires reporting on its prevalence
• Increases transparency and accountability by ending policies like mandatory arbitration and pre-employment nondisclosure agreements, which prevent survivors from reporting  
• Broadens civil rights protections
• Allows workers more time to report harassment
• Creates grant opportunities to help low-income workers access legal assistance
• Lifts the cap on damages that workers who win harassment lawsuits can receive
• Eliminates the tipped minimum wage, which contributes to a restaurant industry culture that enables sexual harassment and discrimination

What’s next?

Now that the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act has been introduced, it needs to pass both the U.S. House and Senate. We will keep you updated as the legislation progresses, and you can read more on the bill from the ACLU and Vox. Want to take action? You can sign the CREDO Action petition and contact your members of Congress and the Senate.

As Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley said: “This is for those workers who shared their stories and instead of justice, faced retaliation. Now is the time to push the conversations and the policies so that those who have been suffering in silence feel seen and represented in our democracy.”