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scope of employees who would be protected under the law.^128
Although not every bill introduced is identical to Yamada’s
model legislation, each is intended to eliminate the problem of
workplace bullying.
To date, only Illinois and New York have successfully
passed the bill through one chamber of their respective state
legislatures.^129 In 2010, the Illinois Senate passed a version of
the Healthy Workplace Bill; however, it died in the House Rules
Committee in 2012.^130 In 2010, the New York Senate passed a
version of the Healthy Workplace Bill, but it stalled in the State
Assembly.^131 Recently, in February 2013, New York
Assemblyman Steve Englebright and Senator Diane Savino,
along with seventy-four sponsors, reintroduced the bill in their
respective chambers.^132 Even though almost half of the states in
America have introduced anti-workplace-bullying legislation,
Targets remain without legal redress.
C. Criticisms of the Healthy Workplace BillAlthough workplace bullying is a problem that affects
approximately half of the American workforce, the Healthy
Workplace Bill has failed to pass in every state legislature in
which it has been introduced.^133 Critics have argued that the
legislation’s definition of bullying conduct is too vague and
exposes employers to potentially unlimited liability. For
example, Suzanne Lucas, author of the blog Evil HR Lady,
opposes the restrictions on, and interference with, an employer’s
(^128) See Connecticut, supra note 127.
(^129) See Illinois, HEALTHY WORKPLACE BILL, http://www.healthy
workplacebill.org/states/il/illinois.php (last visited Apr. 5, 2013); New York,
supra note 127.
(^130) See Illinois, supra note 129.
(^131) See New York, supra note 127.
(^132) Assemblyman Englebright introduced A.B. 4965 on February 13,
2013, and Senator Savino introduced S.B. 3863 on February 25, 2013. The
Senate version of the bill was referred to the Senate Labor Committee, of
which Senator Savino serves as chair. Id.
(^133) See supra Part III.B.