…It is the purpose of this act to insure that every state agency has a policy in place to address and correct workplace bullying…

Kansas has joined the growing number of States seeking out new legislative solutions to ensure dignity in our workplaces. The Kansas Organization of State Employees (KOSE) is pushing to get House Bill 2720, through their State Legislature to protect public workers from psychological abuse.  Click on this link to watch the Fox News report featuring KOSE speaker, John Bates.  Excerpts from the bill featured below  call on the state to adopt and enforce comprehensive workplace bullying policies.  Kudos to KOSE! We need this protection in the private sector too.

…Each state agency shall adopt a policy to prohibit workplace bullying. Such policy shall include:

(1) A mechanism for reporting and correcting workplace bullying;(2)protections for individuals reporting workplace bullying;
(3) a defined progressive discipline policy to apply to repeat
offenders; and
(4) a requirement for annual reporting to the division of personnel
services of the department of administration and the department of labor.
(c) The division of personnel services of the department of
administration, in cooperation with the department of labor, shall draft and make available sample policies.
(d) No state agency, any of its agents, or any state employee shall
retaliate in any manner against a state employee who has reported any unlawful employment practice under this act, or who has participated in any manner in an investigation or proceeding under this act.

Sec. 4. (a) All state agencies shall exercise reasonable care to prevent
and correct promptly any bullying behavior. All state agencies shall
provide a working environment as safe as possible by having preventative measures in place and by dealing immediately with threatening or potentially violent situations.
(b) All state employees shall treat other employees with dignity and
respect. No employee shall engage in threatening, violent, intimidating or other abusive conduct or behaviors.