Bill > HB863

This bill, known as the Healthy Workplace Act, establishes legal protections for employees against abusive work environments in Pennsylvania. The bill defines "abusive conduct" as actions that cause physical or psychological injury, including repeated verbal abuse, threatening behavior, and undermining of work performance, with special consideration for exploiting an employee's known illness or disability. Employers are prohibited from subjecting employees to an abusive work environment and from retaliating against employees who report such conduct. The bill allows employees to seek various remedies through civil action, including reinstatement, back pay, medical expenses, damages for pain and suffering, emotional distress, and punitive damages. Employers can defend themselves by showing they took reasonable steps to prevent abusive conduct or that the complaint is based on legitimate performance issues. Employees may be individually liable for abusive conduct unless they were acting under threat from their employer. The bill provides a one-year statute of limitations for filing claims and does not interfere with collective bargaining agreements that offer greater protections. Importantly, the remedies in this bill are additional to those in existing laws, and the act will take effect 60 days after passage, providing a new legal framework to address workplace abuse and protect employee rights.

Labor and Employment

https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/bill_history.cfm?syear=2025&sind=0&body=H&type=B&bn=863