FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Laura Flegel
Legislative & Public Policy Director
(415) 296-7629
lflegel@nelahq.org
National Employment Lawyers Association Strongly Commends
New Workplace Harassment Legislation
(Washington, DC) – The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), the country’s largest professional organization of lawyers who represent individual employees in cases involving harassment and other disputes with their employers, applauds the far-reaching legislation introduced today by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representative Katherine Clark (D-MA). The Bringing An End To Harassment By Enhancing Accountability And Rejecting Discrimination In The Workplace Act (BE HEARD Act) is the most comprehensive bill to fight workplace harassment and discrimination this nation has ever seen.
The #MeToo movement has awakened America to the fact that what we previously understood about the prevalence of workplace harassment was just the tip of the iceberg. Because secrecy and silence fuel workplace harassment, this landmark bill ends forced arbitration and nondisclosure agreements that force survivors to keep silent about the abuse they have faced on the job.
The legislation also eliminates the tipped minimum wage, which has been shown to foster harassment—particularly of low wage workers. The BE HEARD Act will go a long way toward exposing and eliminating the harassment that so many working people face every day in order to provide for themselves and their families.
Terry O’Neill, NELA’s Executive Director, stated, "The BE HEARD Act represents the gold standard for workplace harassment legislation, and we encourage every member of Congress to support and enact this bill in the 116th Congress. The BE HEARD Act creates the tools that employers, workers, and courts need to eliminate the scourge of workplace harassment in America.”
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The National Employment Lawyers Association advances employee rights and serves lawyers who advocate for equality and justice in the American workplace. NELA provides assistance and support to lawyers in protecting the rights of employees against the greater resources of their employers and the defense bar. It is the country’s largest professional organization exclusively comprised of lawyers who represent individual employees in cases involving employment discrimination and other employment-related matters. NELA and its 69 circuit, state, and local affiliates have more than 4,000 members around the country.
National Employment Lawyers Association Strongly Commends
New Workplace Harassment Legislation
(Washington, DC) – The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), the country’s largest professional organization of lawyers who represent individual employees in cases involving harassment and other disputes with their employers, applauds the far-reaching legislation introduced today by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representative Katherine Clark (D-MA). The Bringing An End To Harassment By Enhancing Accountability And Rejecting Discrimination In The Workplace Act (BE HEARD Act) is the most comprehensive bill to fight workplace harassment and discrimination this nation has ever seen.
The #MeToo movement has awakened America to the fact that what we previously understood about the prevalence of workplace harassment was just the tip of the iceberg. Because secrecy and silence fuel workplace harassment, this landmark bill ends forced arbitration and nondisclosure agreements that force survivors to keep silent about the abuse they have faced on the job.
The legislation also eliminates the tipped minimum wage, which has been shown to foster harassment—particularly of low wage workers. The BE HEARD Act will go a long way toward exposing and eliminating the harassment that so many working people face every day in order to provide for themselves and their families.
Terry O’Neill, NELA’s Executive Director, stated, "The BE HEARD Act represents the gold standard for workplace harassment legislation, and we encourage every member of Congress to support and enact this bill in the 116th Congress. The BE HEARD Act creates the tools that employers, workers, and courts need to eliminate the scourge of workplace harassment in America.”
# # #
The National Employment Lawyers Association advances employee rights and serves lawyers who advocate for equality and justice in the American workplace. NELA provides assistance and support to lawyers in protecting the rights of employees against the greater resources of their employers and the defense bar. It is the country’s largest professional organization exclusively comprised of lawyers who represent individual employees in cases involving employment discrimination and other employment-related matters. NELA and its 69 circuit, state, and local affiliates have more than 4,000 members around the country.
