Washington state lawmakers want to turn the momentum of the #MeToo movement into legislative action in Olympia. A hearing was held Wednesday for a series of bills aimed at combating sexual harassment and assault in the workplace.
“My concern is we can’t just have a conversation. We also need to take steps to change our law,” said Senator Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, the prime sponsor of the bills.
One of her bills would create a commission of stakeholder groups to come up with “model policies,” or best practices for creating safe workplaces.
The two other bills would make it easier for victims to come forward and report sexual harassment or assault despite the prevalence of force arbitration clauses or non-disclosure agreements.
“This will mean if you are subject to sexual harassment or any kind of sexual assault, you will not be bound by a non-disclosure agreement,” explained Sen. Keiser. “You will not be penalized if you report that assault or sexual harassment.”
Similar legislation taking aim at forced arbitration clauses was introduced in December by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress, including Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.
“Many of us, at least women my age, thought this would be behind us,” said Melissa Taylor.
Taylor, one of several women who testified Wednesday, shared her own story of harassment as a young woman working in tech, an issue she says her colleagues experienced as well.
“We’re talking about women on business trips where coworkers come to their hotel room in a bathrobe. We’re talking about the situation I told you about where we get invited to go to a strip club and offered money when we don’t want to go,” she continued. “We’re talking about asking to be under a table to be giving oral sex. We are talking about all of these types of things happening in workplaces across the country.”
Taylor believes there's now momentum for change but also visible blow back as the #MeToo movement enters its next phase, something she hopes will finally make a dent in a pervasive problem across industries.
“As the mother of a 9-year-old daughter, that is not what I want for her,” said Taylor.
Several key business groups including the Washington Hospitality Association and Association of Washington Business expressed support for the bills.
A representative from the Washington Employment Lawyers Association testified that her organization would like to see more clear and specific language in the bills to protect employees from all kinds of harassment.
