The NY Assembly Labor Committee Chair Susan John recently told the Wall Street Journal “No other state in the country has a law like this.” She was referring to the WBI anti-bullying Healthy Workplace Bill. A vote in her committee on June 8 ends the bill’s journey for 2009-10. The vote was not on the merits of the bill. Instead, the vote was technically whether to vote or “hold.” It was held and will not get an Assembly floor vote this session.

According to one reporter’s account, the Chair suggested the hold before polling the committee, thus killing the bill two weeks before the end of the 2-year legislative session.

Susan John is not seeking re-election. She never scheduled a hearing for the HWB in any version since first introduced in 2007. She could have been a populist hero, but she chose to support the business lobby. There were nearly 50 Assembly members who signed on as co-sponsors. She ignored their wishes. The Senate had passed the bill on May 12 by a large majority. She ignored the other chamber’s wishes.

Now the working people of New York have to wait another year or two for the chance to make the bill a law. WBI was asked if our NY citizen lobbying group, the NY Healthy Workplace Advocates will be there again in 2011, and they are certain to add to the list of 50 Assembly co-sponsors and 10 Seantors.

Make no mistake, this tireless group of volunteers will redouble their efforts for the 2011-12 session after this setback. A new Labor chair and new Governor will be in place. And if those individuals choose to resist offering the modest employee protections that the employer-friendly A5414B and S1823B provided, they will risk losing the backing of the 1.8 million New Yorkers who are painfully familiar with the ravages of malicious, health-harming, abusive misconduct at work.

Tags: A5414B, Healthy Workplace Bill, New York, NYHWA, S1823B, Susan John