The Senate has passed a bill (H.707) that would outlaw workplace policies that tend to silence those who try to come forward with sexual harassment claims.
The measure, which has already been approved by the House and has the support of Gov. Phil Scott, also would provide educational resources to help reduce instances of harassment in the workplace. It received unanimous backing in the Senate.
Among its provisions, the legislation would also prohibit two common practices that many say have the effect of silencing those who have faced harassments.
It would outlaw any requirement that employees or prospective employees, as a condition of employment, sign a waiver of any rights to disclose incidents of sexual harassment.
The measure also would prohibit employers from dismissing employees once a settlement has been reached on a complaint.
The legislation would provide the Vermont Commission on Women with $125,000 to develop public service announcements, electronic training materials, educational programs and in-person seminars and workshops.
The lead sponsor, Rep. Sarah Copeland-Hanzas, D-Bradford, began working on the bill in December with representatives of the commission and the state attorney general’s office.
Copeland-Hanzas said the bill was inspired in part by women in the #MeToo movement who she felt were invisible in the national narrative of sexual harassment and assault — everyday working people.
Many of those workers, she said, face harassment every day — from the waitress being groped by the prep cook, to the line worker being tormented in the factory, to the office worker whose colleague asks her out on a daily basis.
“It’s no protection to women if we just out a few high-profile harassers,” Copeland-Hanzas said. “I wanted us to take a look at what can we do to extend sexual assault protection to all workers.”
Copeland-Hanzas worked closely with one Commission on Women member, Lisa Senecal of Stowe, a business owner who experienced assault and signed a non-disclosure agreement as a part of her settlement in a previous job.
“It has been an incredibly difficult way to live,” Senecal said.
Senecal said she is now aware of things about the company that she is forbidden from speaking about because of the non-disclosure agreement. It also prohibits her from speaking out about the details of her assault.
“You feel like you are complicit in the silence and allowing it to continue,” she said.
Senecal said she put her name forward to become a commissioner in 2017 because of her experiences. She provided testimony over the course of the bill’s movement through both chambers of the Legislature.
The bill was introduced with widespread support from all parties in the House — Majority Leader Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, Minority Leader Don Turner, R-Milton, and Progressive leader Robin Chesnut-Tangerman of Middletown Springs all signed on to sponsor the legislation.
Copeland-Hanzas said the bill was drafted in a way to attract broad support but that she plans to seek additional remedies in the future.
“I am coming back for more next year,” she said, adding she hopes to focus on the financial and power disparities that exist between companies and their employees who report abuse.