Mycroft Masada is a nonbinary trans and queer Jewish leader with 30 years of experience who moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland (Montgomery County near Washington DC) from their lifelong home of Boston in 2014. A TransEpiscopal Steering Committee member and former Congregation Am Tikva board member, Mycroft is particularly called to pursue LGBTQ+ and fat justice, and is an advocate, organizer, consultant, educator, trainer, writer and artist. They are married to Julia McCrossin, the mas(s)culine fatshion blogger, and with her they co-parent a dogter. Their central online home is MasadArts.blogspot.com.


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MY PIECE "IN THE BEGINNING" IS IN MX. CHRIS PAIGE'S NONFICTION ANTHOLOGY "OtherWise Christian 2 : Stories Of Resistance", LAUNCHING IN MARCH 2020!

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

MA HEIGHT/WEIGHT ANTI-DISCRIMINATION BILL HEARING NEXT TUES. 7/21!

HEARING ON MASSACHUSETTS HEIGHT/WEIGHT ANTI-DISCRIMINATION BILL NEXT TUESDAY JULY 21ST AT 12:30 P.M. AT THE STATE HOUSE! PLEASE NOTE THAT EVERYONE CAN SUBMIT WRITTEN TESTIMONY -- I will be doing so, as I've done for the past few sessions; I've also testified in person twice. Just got this e-mail; will put more info on my blog and post that:

Hi All,

As past supporters of Representative Rushing’s legislation regarding height and weight discrimination, I am writing to let you know that the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development has scheduled a hearing for the bill (H. 1764,An Act Making Discrimination on the Basis of Height and Weight Unlawful) on Tuesday, July 21, which begins at  12:30 p.m. in Gardner Auditorium in the State House.  I apologize for the short notice; I just found out about the hearing.

This bill would amend the state’s anti-discrimination laws to add height and weight to the list of protected categories, which currently include race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, or ancestry.  It would provide a legal remedy to those who have experienced discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations based on their weight or height. 

As you may remember, this bill was approved by the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development last session but did not come up for a vote before the House of Representatives and had to be re-filed for the current legislative session, which began in January 2015.  Also, please note that the House has a new Chair of the Committee this session who is likely unfamiliar with the issue.

As you may know, many legislative committees limit spoken testimony to approximately 3 minutes per person.  However, you can submit both written and verbal testimony, and are encouraged to do so, if you are worried about conveying your full message within the three-minute timeframe.  If you would like to submit testimony but are unable to be in attendance, you can submit testimony via email to Daniel.Wolf@masenate.gov orJohn.Scibak@mahouse.gov, or via the mail to the following addresses:

Senator Daniel A. Wolf
Senate Chair, Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development
State House, Room 405
Boston, MA 02133

Representative John W. Scibak
House Chair, Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development
State House, Room 43
Boston, MA 02133

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Best,
Dave

Dave VanderWoude
Office of Majority Whip Byron Rushing
State House, Room 235
Boston, MA 02133
(617) 722-2783
david.vanderwoude@mahouse.gov

Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 4:07 PM
To: HOU-DL - HOUSE STAFF; HOU-DL - HOUSE AIDES; HOU-DL - HOUSE REPS; SEN-DL-ALLSTAFF; SEN-DL-SENATORS
Subject: Notice of Public Hearing (With Changes): Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development hearing on Workplace Discrimination and Workplace Safety -7/21 in Gardner Auditorium from 12:30-5

Image1
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
JOINT COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON 02133
Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development
Rep. John W. Scibak
Sen. Daniel A. Wolf
House Chairman
Senate Chairman

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
Date of Hearing: Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Time: 12:30 PM-5:00 PM
Location: GARDNER AUDITORIUM

Workplace Discrimination and Workplace Safety

Bill No.
Sponsor
Title
H1682
Benson, Jennifer E. (HOU)
An Act relative to discrimination in the workplace
H1687
Brady, Michael D. (HOU)
An Act requiring health care employees to develop and implement programs to prevent workplace violence
H1689
Calter, Thomas J. (HOU)
An Act relative to needle stick injuries suffered by first responders
H1728
Kocot, Peter V. (HOU)
An Act prohibiting the bullying of public school employees
H1733
Livingstone, Jay D. (HOU)
An Act to establish pay equity
H1736
Malia, Elizabeth A. (HOU)
An Act regulating the use of credit reports by employers
H1756
O'Day, James J. (HOU)
An Act to further define standards of employee safety
H1757
Orrall, Keiko M. (HOU)
An Act relative to non discrimination training in the workplace
H1764
Rushing, Byron (HOU)
An Act making discrimination on the basis of height and weight unlawful
H1769
Story, Ellen (HOU)
An Act establishing the Massachusetts pregnant workers fairness act
H1771
Story, Ellen (HOU)
An Act addressing workplace bullying, mobbing, and harassment, without regard to protected class status
H1781
Zlotnik, Jonathan (HOU)
An Act Relative to Non Discrimination Training in the Workplace
H1783
Zlotnik, Jonathan (HOU)
An Act Relative to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination
S123
Barrett, Michael J. (SEN)
An Act regulating the use of credit reports by employers
S954
Barrett, Michael J. (SEN)
An Act providing fair chances for employment
S956
Brownsberger, William N. (SEN)
An Act establishing the refusal to provide certain records as an unfair labor practice
S960
Chang-Diaz, Sonia (SEN)
An Act ensuring uniformity in education discrimination complaint procedures
S970
Donnelly, Kenneth J. (SEN)
An Act requiring recordkeeping at public construction worksites in order to protect first responders
S983
Jehlen, Patricia D. (SEN)
An Act to establish pay equity
S984
Joyce, Brian A. (SEN)
An Act preventing discrimination based on veteran's status
S986
Joyce, Brian A. (SEN)
An Act relative to health and safety on public construction projects
S988
Keenan, John F. (SEN)
An Act relative to electrical panels and workplace safety
S989
L'Italien, Barbara (SEN)
An Act relative to nondiscrimination regional advisory boards
S991
Montigny, Mark C. (SEN)
An Act relative to fair hiring practices
S999
Pacheco, Marc R. (SEN)
An Act to further define standards of employee safety
S1007
Spilka, Karen E. (SEN)
Resolutions to encourage equitable and diverse gender representation on the boards of companies in the Commonwealth
S1020
Timilty, James E. (SEN)
An Act relative to equity in the workplace

Please be advised that the schedule and agenda are subject to change at the discretion of the chair per committee rules. Due to the expected number of attendants, testimony will be strictly limited to 3 minutes. Panels will be limited to a size of four individuals or fewer, and each panel will be ask to keep their testimony limited to ten minutes.
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