Rep.: Pa. needs action on sex harassment

State rep irked that Pa. House seeking more ‘studies,’ instead of action on sex harassment.

After introducing legislation of her own to address sexual harassment in the state capital months ago, state Rep. Leanne KruegerBraneky, D-161 of Swarthmore, supported a Republican bill to set up a task force to evaluate the issue in hopes it moves the process forward.

However, she accused the GOP of cramming the proposal of a task force through.

“More than five months have passed since Democrats introduced a package of bills to address sexual misconduct, including the bill I authored, HB 1965, the #MeToo PA House Act,” Krueger-Braneky said. “Now, in the shadow of state budget negotiations, the GOP has pushed through two resolutions to create a task force of legislators to study the problem rather than actually address it .... It’s not time to study the problem; it’s time to act. ”

Supporters said such an approach would provide a thorough vetting of the issue and how to address it.

“As part of the (Republican) caucus leadership team, we want to ensure these important issues are dealt with through a thoughtful, deliberate approach, rather than an immediate response that may lack power and direction,” said state Rep. Marcy Toepel, R-147, of Douglass Township, one of the legislation’s co-authors. “By taking the time to listen to people representing all perspectives, we will be best equipped to improve the professional climate for Pennsylvanians.”

On Monday, the state House approved creating a task force that would be given a year to study workplace harassment and sexual misconduct in the workplace. In addition, the Joint State Government Commission would issue a study about harassment situations in state government.

Krueger-Braneky crafted legislation that would clearly define sexual harassment in state law while creating a bicameral, non-partisan Office of Compliance. In addition, it would require elected officials to reimburse taxpayers for settlements involving sexual harassment claims, while also establishing procedures to investigate claims in the General Assembly.

The Swarthmore Democrat said the state is in dire need of updating its policies on sexual harassment.

“As more reports of harassment have come to light, it’s become clear that our current system does not support victims of sexual harassment,” KruegerBraneky said. “We need to take action now to ensure a fair and transparent system for handling complaints, independent of politics. H.B. 1965 would create an independent Office of Compliance and require that an independent investigator follow up on any complaint made by a staffer in the state Capitol, among other reforms.”

Now, complaints in the state government are handled by their respective caucuses.

Other pending legislation involving harassment include:

• H.B. 1971 and 2280, which would ensure that all workers are covered by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. Currently, the act only applies to employers with four or more employees;

• H.B. 2282, which would require the human relations law to apply those who work in agriculture, domestic services, interns and volunteers and make employers provide corollary training;

• H.B. 2283, which would create clearer descriptions of unacceptable behavior, such as sexual harassment;

• H.B. 2286, which would increase the statute of limitations from 180 days to two years for filing a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission;

• H.B. 2284, which increases the statute of limitations on the Whistleblower Law for the filing of a complaint of retaliation from 180 days to two years as well.

Krueger-Braneky was optimistic that her support of the task force would progress this series of bills.

“Although they don’t address current complaints, I voted for the resolutions as a good faith gesture to Republican leadership in the hopes that they will bring up for a vote more substantive bills in the near future,,” she said.

The representative spoke of the widespread need to address the problem.

“Any woman in any workplace knows full well we have a problem with sexual harassment and misconduct that has gone unchecked for generations,” she said. “We don’t need a study to tell us that there must be a fair and impartial process to investigate harassment claims and protections against retaliation against victims and whistle blowers.”

Rep. Leanne KruegerBraneky