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
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
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
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.
