Baldwin offers workplace harassment bill

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin has announced legislation that she says would restore workplace protections undermined by a 2013 Supreme Court decision.

The Fair Employment Protection Act -- co-authored with U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and U.S. Reps. George Miller, D-Calif., and Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. -- would stipulate when employers could be held responsible for harassment in the workplace.

Baldwin, D-Madison, said in a statement that a ruling in Vance v. Ball State University last year applied heightened legal obligations to prevent harassment only to those with the ability to hire or fire employees. Baldwin argues those obligations are also needed for others that have "the power to control a worker's daily work life, but not the power to hire or fire."

"Unfortunately, workplace harassment remains an unacceptable reality that threatens the economic security of far too many people, particularly women, working to build a better future for themselves and their families," Baldwin said.