Full Text of HJR0040 96th General Assembly
HJ0040 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HJ0040 |
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| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The social and economic well-being of the State is | 3 |
| reliant upon healthy and productive employees; and
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| WHEREAS, Surveys and studies have documented that 37% of | 5 |
| employees directly experience health-endangering workplace | 6 |
| bullying, abuse, and harassment, which is 4 times more | 7 |
| prevalent than sexual harassment alone; and
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| WHEREAS, Workplace bullying is recognized by the National | 9 |
| Institute for Occupational Safety and Health as a form of | 10 |
| workplace violence; and
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| WHEREAS, Further studies and surveys have documented that | 12 |
| abusive work environments can have severe effects on targeted | 13 |
| employees, including feelings of shame and humiliation, | 14 |
| stress, loss of sleep, severe anxiety, depression, | 15 |
| post-traumatic stress disorder, reduced immunity to infection, | 16 |
| stress-related gastrointestinal disorders, hypertension, and | 17 |
| pathophysiologic changes that increase the risk of | 18 |
| cardiovascular diseases; and
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| WHEREAS, Surveys and studies have documented that abusive | 20 |
| work environments can have serious consequences for employers, | 21 |
| including reduced employee productivity and morale, higher |
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| turnover and compensation claims; and
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| WHEREAS, Unless mistreated employees have been subjected | 3 |
| to abusive treatment in the workplace for unlawful | 4 |
| discriminatory reasons, they are unlikely to have legal | 5 |
| recourse to redress such treatment; and
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| WHEREAS, Legal protection from abusive work environments | 7 |
| should not be limited to behavior grounded in protected class | 8 |
| status as required by employment discrimination statutes; and
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| WHEREAS, Current laws apply in only 20% of bullying cases; | 10 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Legal protections apply when the target is a | 12 |
| member of a protected status group except in same-sex and | 13 |
| same-race harassment which accounts for 61% of bullying, which | 14 |
| accounts for a legal loophole; and
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| WHEREAS, It is important that Illinois promote the health, | 16 |
| safety, and welfare of Illinois employees; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 18 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 19 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that Illinois Legislative Task Force | 20 |
| on Workplace Bullying is created, to consist of 8 members of |
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| the Illinois General Assembly appointed as follows: 2 members | 2 |
| of the Senate appointed by the Senate President, one of whom | 3 |
| shall serve as co-chairman; 2 members of the Senate appointed | 4 |
| by the Minority Leader of the Senate; 2 members of the House of | 5 |
| Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of | 6 |
| Representatives, one of whom shall serve as co-chairman; and 2 | 7 |
| members of the House of Representatives appointed by the | 8 |
| Minority Leader of the House of Representatives; all Task Force | 9 |
| members shall serve without compensation, but shall be | 10 |
| reimbursed for their reasonable and necessary expenses from | 11 |
| funds appropriated for that purpose; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the mission of the Illinois Legislative Task | 13 |
| Force on Workplace Bullying shall be to examine: (1) the | 14 |
| prevalence and impact of workplace bullying on Illinois private | 15 |
| sector employees to include, but not be limited to, physical | 16 |
| and psychological health, economic security, work and family | 17 |
| relationships; (2) the barriers faced by private sector | 18 |
| employers, both for-profit and not-for-profit, who employ | 19 |
| individuals who engage in intentional abusive conduct such as | 20 |
| increased turnover, lost productivity through absenteeism, | 21 |
| worker's compensation and disability insurance claims, and | 22 |
| corporate recruitment and retention as related to workplace | 23 |
| bullying; and (3) incentives to businesses who implement | 24 |
| policies and procedures to prevent and respond to the | 25 |
| mistreatment of employees at work; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Illinois Legislative Task Force on | 2 |
| Workplace Bullying shall receive the assistance of legislative | 3 |
| staff, may employ skilled experts with the approval of the | 4 |
| Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate, and shall | 5 |
| report its findings to the General Assembly on or before | 6 |
| December 1, 2010.
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