HB 863 — An Act providing for legal protections from abusive work environments and for remedies.

PRINTER'S NO.   900

                   THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                       HOUSE BILL
                       No. 863
                                              Session of
                                                2025

     INTRODUCED BY HARKINS, FREEMAN, HILL-EVANS, GIRAL, CURRY,
        MADDEN, WAXMAN, CERRATO, KENYATTA, SANCHEZ, MALAGARI AND
        CIRESI, MARCH 11, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, MARCH 11, 2025


                                   AN ACT
 1   Providing for legal protections from abusive work environments
 2      and for remedies.
 3      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 4   hereby enacts as follows:
 5   Section 1.   Short title.
 6      This act shall be known and may be cited as the Healthy
 7   Workplace Act.
 8   Section 2.   Definitions.
 9      The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
10   have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
11   context clearly indicates otherwise:
12      "Abusive conduct."   As follows:
13          (1)   An act or omission intended to inflict and resulting
14      in physical injury or psychological injury, which is not
15      injury compensable under the act of June 2, 1915 (P.L.736,
16      No.338), known as the Workers' Compensation Act, if the
17      injury necessitates treatment by a qualified, licensed
 1      medical, mental health or rehabilitative professional and is
 2      inflicted by means of acts or omissions that a reasonable
 3      individual would find abusive, based on the severity, nature
 4      and frequency of the conduct, including:
 5                (i)    Repeated verbal abuse by the use of derogatory
 6          remarks, insults and epithets.
 7                (ii)    Verbal, nonverbal or physical conduct of a
 8          threatening, intimidating or humiliating nature.
 9                (iii)    The sabotage or undermining of an employee's
10          work performance.
11          (2)   It shall be considered an aggravating factor if the
12      conduct exploited an employee's known psychological or
13      physical illness or disability.
14          (3)   A single act normally shall not constitute abusive
15      conduct, but an especially severe and egregious act may meet
16      this standard.
17      "Abusive work environment."      An employment condition when an
18   employer or one or more of an employer's employees, acting with
19   intent to cause pain or distress to an employee, subjects an
20   employee to abusive conduct.
21      "Adverse employment action."      A materially and objectively
22   adverse reduction in terms, conditions or privileges of
23   employment, including:
24          (1)   a termination, demotion, unfavorable reassignment or
25      failure to promote;
26          (2)   disciplinary action; or
27          (3)   reduction in compensation.
28      "Employee."      A person who performs a service for wages or
29   other remuneration under a contract of hire, written or oral,
30   express or implied, for an employer. The term does not include:

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 1            (1)   an individual employed in agriculture or in the
 2      domestic service of a person;
 3            (2)   an individual who, as a part of the individual's
 4      employment, resides in the personal residence of the
 5      employer; or
 6            (3)   an individual employed by the individual's parents,
 7      spouse or child.
 8      "Employer."     An individual, partnership, association,
 9   organization, corporation, legal representative, trustee in
10   bankruptcy or receiver employing another person within this
11   Commonwealth. The term includes the Commonwealth and any
12   political subdivision, authority, board or commission of the
13   Commonwealth. The term does not include religious, fraternal,
14   charitable or sectarian corporations or associations, except
15   those corporations or associations supported, in whole or in
16   part, by governmental appropriations.
17      "Physical injury."     The impairment of an individual's
18   physical health or bodily integrity, as established by competent
19   evidence to the satisfaction of the court.
20      "Psychological injury."     The impairment of an individual's
21   mental health, as established by competent evidence to the
22   satisfaction of the court.
23   Section 3.     Abusive work environment.
24      (a)   Prohibition.--An employee may not be subjected to an
25   abusive work environment by an employer or other employee.
26      (b)   Retaliation prohibited.--An employer or employee may not
27   retaliate in any manner against an employee who has opposed an
28   unlawful employment practice under this act or who has made a
29   charge, testified, assisted or participated in any manner in an
30   investigation or proceeding under this act, including by:

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 1          (1)     internal complaints and proceedings;
 2          (2)     arbitration and mediation proceedings; or
 3          (3)     legal actions.
 4   Section 4.   Employer liability.
 5      An employer shall be liable for a violation of section 3
 6   committed by an employer's employee. If the alleged violation of
 7   section 3 does not include an adverse employment action, it
 8   shall be an affirmative defense for an employer only that:
 9          (1)     the employer exercised reasonable care to promptly
10      prevent and correct any actionable behavior; and
11          (2)     the complainant employee unreasonably failed to take
12      advantage of appropriate preventive or corrective
13      opportunities provided by the employer.
14   Section 5.   Employee liability.
15      An employee may be individually liable for a violation of
16   section 3. It shall be an affirmative defense for an employee
17   only that the employee committed a violation of section 3 at the
18   direction of the employer, under actual or implied threat of an
19   adverse employment action.
20   Section 6.   Affirmative defenses.
21      Any of the following is an affirmative defense to an action
22   under section 3:
23          (1)     The complaint is based on an adverse employment
24      action reasonably made for poor performance, misconduct or
25      economic necessity.
26          (2)     The complaint is based on a reasonable performance
27      evaluation.
28          (3)     The complaint is based on an employer's reasonable
29      investigation about potentially illegal or unethical
30      activity.

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 1            (4)   The complaint is based on an action taken by the
 2      employer that it was required by law to take.
 3   Section 7.     Remedies.
 4      (a)   Relief.--If a defendant has been found liable for a
 5   violation of section 3, the court may enjoin the defendant from
 6   engaging in the unlawful employment practice and may order any
 7   other relief that is deemed appropriate, including any one or
 8   more of the following:
 9            (1)   Rehiring of the plaintiff, reinstatement to a
10      position and rescission of an adverse employment action.
11            (2)   Removal of the offending party from the plaintiff's
12      work environment.
13            (3)   Payment of back pay, front pay and medical expenses.
14            (4)   Damages for pain and suffering.
15            (5)   Damages for emotional distress.
16            (6)   Punitive damages.
17            (7)   Reasonable attorney fees.
18      (b)   Limitation.--If an employer is liable for a violation of
19   section 3 that did not include an adverse employment action,
20   emotional distress damages and punitive damages may be awarded
21   only when the actionable conduct was extreme and outrageous. The
22   limitation does not apply to individually named employee
23   defendants.
24   Section 8.     Enforcement.
25      A person aggrieved by a violation of this act may initiate a
26   civil action or other proceeding in a court of competent
27   jurisdiction not later than one year from the date of the last
28   alleged violation of section 3.
29   Section 9.     Collective bargaining or arbitration agreements.
30      This act shall not prevent, interfere, exempt or supersede

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 1   provisions of an employee's collective bargaining or arbitration
 2   agreement that provide greater rights and protections than
 3   prescribed in this act. This act shall not prevent new
 4   provisions of the collective bargaining or arbitration agreement
 5   that provide greater rights, remedies and protections from being
 6   implemented and applicable to the employee within the collective
 7   bargaining or arbitration agreement.
 8   Section 10.    Effect of other laws.
 9      (a)   Effect.--Except as provided in subsection (b),
10   provisions of this act may not be deemed to exempt a person from
11   a liability, duty or penalty provided by any other provision of
12   law. The remedies provided under section 7 shall be in addition
13   to remedies provided under any other provision of law.
14      (b)   Exception.--Payments of workers' compensation shall be
15   reimbursed from damages paid under this act if an employee
16   receives compensation:
17            (1)   for medical costs for the same injury or illness
18      under this act and the act of June 2, 1915 (P.L.736, No.338),
19      known as the Workers' Compensation Act; or
20            (2)   in cash payments under this act and the Workers'
21      Compensation Act for the same period of time not working as a
22      result of the compensable injury or illness or unlawful
23      employment practice.
24   Section 11.    Effective date.
25      This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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