Bill > SB7

This bill establishes the Healthy Workplace Act to protect employees from abusive conduct in the workplace by creating comprehensive legal protections and employer responsibilities. The bill defines abusive conduct as unwelcome, degrading, and dehumanizing behavior that is severe or pervasive enough to create an intimidating or hostile work environment, and applies to all types of employees including full-time, part-time, temporary, and contracted workers. Employers and representative employees are required to take preventative and responsive measures, including establishing a transparent complaint process, implementing disciplinary procedures, maintaining accurate records, developing a written healthy workplace policy by December 31, 2025, and providing employee training. The bill prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who report abusive conduct and forbids mandatory mediation or non-disclosure agreements related to such complaints. Employees who experience abusive conduct can file a civil lawsuit within three years, potentially receiving compensatory and punitive damages up to $15,000, with the option to use a pseudonym to protect their identity. The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is tasked with adopting rules to implement the act, and the legislation ensures that collective bargaining agreements can provide superior protections. The underlying motivation for the bill is to address workplace bullying and harassment that currently falls outside existing anti-discrimination laws, recognizing the serious psychological and physical harm such conduct can cause to employees.

Justice, Labor and Employment

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=7&year=2026