Woonsocket Radio News Room

Sen. Ciccone’s Dignity at Work Act that combats workplace bullying passes Senate

 

STATE HOUSE – The Senate today passed Sen. Frank A. Ciccone’s (D-Dist. 7, Providence, North Providence) legislation (2022-S 2486A) that would provide workers with more protection from bullying and harassment in the workplace.

“I have been introducing similar legislation for many years and in today’s climate of accountability being brought upon harassers, bullies, and abusers, we must continue the social progress we have made and pass this protective legislation for all employees in Rhode Island.  Rhode Island workers deserve to have the Dignity at Work Act become law and I thank my colleagues in the Senate for supporting this important piece of workplace protection legislation,” said Senator Ciccone.

The purpose of the legislation is to recognize and protect the right to dignity in the workplace, and to prevent, detect, remedy and eliminate all forms of workplace bullying and harassment that infringe upon that right.  It will provide legal remedies for workers who are targets of workplace bullying, moral, psychological or general harassment and/or other forms of workplace abuse in order to make whole such targets of workplace abuse.  The bill also provides an incentive for employers to prevent, detect, remedy and eliminate workplace bullying in order that such behaviors shall be addressed and eliminated before they cause harm to the targets of such behaviors.

The bill now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.

 

Former President Trump's criminal hush money trial is back underway in a New York City court. Jurors again heard testimony from former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker who has explained this week how he protected Trump from negative stories leading up to the 2016 presidential election.       The Supreme Court is considering whether Donald Trump has presidential immunity in his federal election subversion case. Trump's attorney argued prosecuting a president for official acts "incompatible" with Constitution. The special counsel attorney argued the Constitution does not grant a president absolute immunity.       Severe weather is hitting parts of the Central U.S. Large hail, heavy downpours and isolated tornadoes are forecast today from the Texas Panhandle to southern Nebraska, with wind gusts reaching 85 miles per hour. Forecasters are warning of flash flooding from the heavy rain, and are telling residents across the Central Plains to stay alert for tornadoes.       The abortion issue was front and center on Wednesday. First, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a closely-watched case over whether Idaho's near-total abortion ban conflicts with a federal law requiring hospitals to provide patients emergency care. Later in the day, Arizona's House of Representatives voted to repeal a Civil War-era abortion law that bans nearly all abortions, and the bill now heads to the state Senate.       Southwest Airlines is suspending its operations at four major airports. The airline announced the decision Thursday, citing financial underperformance and Boeing delivery delays. The company reported over 230 million-dollars in losses in the first quarter of 2024, and expects to let two-thousand employees go by the end of the year.       Three teams will look to take commanding three-nothing leads in their NBA Playoffs series tonight. In the first game of the night, the Orlando Magic will look to rebound at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the second game of the night, the Philadelphia 76ers will host the New York Knicks. In the last game of the night, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will look to avoid going down three-games-to-none against the defending champion Denver Nuggets.       

Old News Archives