Workers deserve more rights

We live in a culture where corporations simply have too much power. Currently, they can:

• Ask us to sign away our rights
• Push us out of our jobs for any reason or no reason
• Work while grieving a loved one
• Check our credit in the hiring process
• Fail to conduct investigations for reports of sexual harassment
• Discriminate against those suffering from domestic violence
• Retaliate against injured workers
• Make it difficult for us to leave toxic workplaces when our healthcare is tied to our jobs
• Silence us when we've been abused
• Pay some workers below minimum wage
• Not grant sufficient sick leave amid COVID-19
• Conduct abusive scheduling practices
• Avoid accountability for discrimination through wages and promotions
• Steal wages
• Block public employees from striking
• Ask about our desired salary ranges, which has a discriminatory impact
• Verbally abuse and sabotage workers with zero accountability

We can change this toxic culture for workers through by passing these bills into law:

Benefits after employment separation, S5647
This bill will not disqualify an employee from receiving benefits for separation from employment in cases where the claimant's employer maintained or refused to cure a health or safety condition that made the environment unsuitable.

Bereavement leave, S6116
This bill will authorize paid family leave for bereavement.

Credit history, A788
This bill will prohibit the use of credit history checks to ascertain the payment status of a student loan of an applicant for employment for the purposes of making hiring decisions except where otherwise mandated by law.

Parental leave (Make Time for Parenting Act), S385
This bill will grant leave to attend school conferences and classroom activities related to the employee's child without negative consequence.

PTSD and first responders, S4255, A3701
This bill will allow police officers, correction officers, firefighters, and other emergency personnel diagnosed with PTSD to request sick leave.

Scheduling, A737, S5102, A3040
These bills will require employers of retail, food service, or cleaning employees to give such employees seven days' notice of their work schedule and a month's notice of the minimum hours of work. One will require the provision of care to persons requiring twenty-four hours of care take the form of non-sequential split shifts of twelve hours each. It provides a private right of action to employees who are aggrieved by certain violations of such provisions.

State enforcement authority (Empowering People in Rights Enforcement (EMPIRE) Worker Protection Act), S1848A, A5876A
This bill will relate to the delegation of state enforcement authority to private actors; authorizes an aggrieved employee, whistleblower, or representative organization to initiate a public enforcement action on behalf of the commissioner for certain provisions of the labor law.

Wage data reporting, S453
This bill will require the department of labor to create an annual pay data report to compile statistics and information pertaining to employers that have 100+ employees and who are required to file an annual Employer Information Report pursuant to federal law.

Wage theft, S2832, A154
This bill will ban individuals who have violated wage theft laws from bidding on public works projects.

Women in high-wage, high-demand, nontraditional jobs grant program, A823
This bill will create the women and high-wage, high-demand, nontraditional jobs grant program; encourages and assists women to enter high-wage, high-demand occupations including but not limited to trades, science, technology, engineering, and math.

Workplace abuse, S1753
Workplace bullying is a severe and pervasive phenomenon in the US involving a violation of the basic human right to dignity. Bullying tactics include false accusations, exclusion, withholding necessary resources, sabotage, verbal abuse, put-downs, and unreasonable demands — resulting in a host of stress-related symptoms including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and suicide ideation. This bill would hold employers accountable for intentional abusive conduct that causes health harm and needs amendments to omit intent and health harm, in line with sexual harassment law, which is stronger than other anti-discrimination laws.