ACLU Responds to Senator’s New Report on Addressing Workplace Harassment

WASHINGTON — Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), ranking member on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, issued a report today entitled, “’…So I Tolerated It’: How Workplaces Are Responding to Harassment and the Clear Need for Federal Action.”

Vania Leveille, senior legislative counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union, had the following response:

“This report serves as an essential contribution to the #MeToo movement and the national conversation about eliminating workplace harassment. Sen. Murray puts a much-needed spotlight on the pervasive sexual harassment and abuse faced by low-wage workers whose stories are too often absent from the headlines. The report also highlights the unique ways harassment impacts individuals whose identities exist at the intersection of discrimination based on sex, race, disability, age, and religion — and who deserve dignity in the workplace.

“Last week, Congress took the critical step of protecting its own workers from harassment. Now, it’s time for similarly bold and bipartisan action to eradicate the harassment and discrimination that for far too long has been a fact of life for our nation’s workforce.”