History of the U.S. Legislative Campaign

The Beginning - 2001

We began the push to enact anti-bullying laws state-by-state for the workplace in 2001 thanks to Suffolk University Professor of Law David Yamada who drafted the text of the Healthy Workplace Bill. (The text was revised in 2009.) The original bill grew out of his seminal legal treatise on workplace bullying and the need for "status-blind harassment" laws.

Gary & Ruth Namie, Carrie Clark & Moe Tyler first lobbied California lawmakers in 2002. The HWB was first introduced in California in 2003 as AB 1582. A group of Californians subsequently formed the first of several WBI/HWB-affiliated groups -- the California Healthy Workplace Advocates. New York was next to organize. Many other state groups have formed since. The power of our movement derives from its united message and the fact that regardless of state, we begin with the same bill language.

A Grassroots Campaign

The HWB has been introduced in 17 states in over 50 versions sponsored by 250 legislators thanks to the State Coordinator volunteer network. The bill has successfully passed committee votes in Illinois, Washington, New York and Connecticut; passed House floor votes in New York for a study-only bill; and passed both houses in Illinois as a Joint Resolution establishing funding for a 1-year Task Force on Workplace Bullying. In 2010, the Senates in respective New York and Illinois legislatures passed the bill. We await the successful passage by floor vote in both chambers. Eventually, it will become law in one or more states and be replicated like the school bullying laws that snowball across the nation.

There are no plans at this time to create a federal law to address workplace bullying. However, negotiations are underway to hold an informational Congressional hearing on the topic in the U. S. House of Representatives or the U.S.Senate.

About the Coordinators

The Backbone of the Campaign

The simplicity of our network of State Coordinators is that they are residents and voting constituents of their states who convince their district Representative and Senator about the merits of the Healthy Workplace Bill. They are volunteers who argue effectively for the bill's introduction and enactment into law. They mobilize ordinary folks to contact elected officials with their personal stories and pleas to support the bill. Currently there are Coordinators in 31 states. They are super volunteers. Some have established groups that meet in person. All have virtual groups of identified supporters (we call them Citizen Lobbyists).

All Coordinators begin each state's campaign with the same Healthy Workplace Bill language. We provide each volunteer with extensive information about being a coordinator along with education and lobbying materials. Coordinators then develop common educational materials and annually revise the nuanced talking points to persuade potential sponsors. We speak with a single, united (but locally active) voice.

Without Coordinators, the movement would have ended years ago when the first bill was introduced in California. The fact that 17 states have introduced over 50 versions of the Healthy Workplace Bill since the start of our work is a testament to the passion, power and commitment of the State Coordinator network.

Coordinators educate lawmakers all year long, orchestrate Lobbying Days at the Capitol, testify at hearings, talk to the press, and represent the movement as voters in their respective states. Some maintain websites or blogs and organize events during our annual Freedom From Workplace Bullies week. Coordinators are extraordinarily effective, despite not donating to election campaigns. They are armed with a moral message. Work on the HWB Campaign has transformed the lives of many Coordinators.

Coordinators are the foundation for the national Campaign.

The International Legislative Movement

The U.S. is the last of the western democracies to introduce a law forbidding bullying-like conduct in the workplace. Scandinavian nations have explicit anti-bullying laws (since 1994). Many of the EU nations have substantially more legal employee protections which compel employers to prevent or correct bullying.

Britain, the home of the term "workplace bullying," has broader anti-harassment laws than the U.S. to cover bullying. Ireland has a strong health and safety code (2005) to address bullying.

Canada's first provincial law was enacted in 2004, the second in 2007, and the occupational health code for federal employees in 2008.