General Assembly

Female senators join forces on bills to combat sexual harassment

A bipartisan group of senators is seeking to change how sexual harassment cases are handled in Harrisburg.

Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward

Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward Commonwealth Media Services

Four female state senators are joining forces to introduce a package of bills to reform how sexual harassment cases are handled in Harrisburg. 

In a joint release issued Tuesday, the prime sponsors of the legislation said their two-bill package will strengthen workplace protections for those who work in state government while also increasing transparency about the use of nondisclosure agreements in sexual harassment claims. 

The two bills – which are being introduced by President Pro Tempore Kim Ward and state Sens. Kristin Phillips-Hill, Tracy Pennycuick and Maria Collett – come in the wake of two high-profile sexual harassment scandals that occurred in Harrisburg this year.

Democratic state Rep. Mike Zabel resigned in March after being accused of sexual harassment by multiple people, including a union lobbyist and sitting state representative.

In September, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s longtime aide Mike Vereb resigned as secretary of legislative affairs, and a subsequent report from The Philadelphia Inquirer found that Vereb was facing a sexual harassment complaint in the weeks leading up to his exit. A report from Spotlight PA later revealed that Shapiro’s office agreed to pay $295,000 in taxpayer funds to settle a sexual harassment allegation made against Vereb.

“The recent sexual harassment incidents in the Capitol have presented us with a learning opportunity that we can and should do better,” Ward said Tuesday in a statement. “Sexual harassment is not a political issue. It is a human issue. While we can’t eradicate all instances, we can do our best to address these matters swiftly and ensure transparency in how taxpayer funds are disbursed.” 

Ward and Collett are sponsoring the first piece of legislation, which would require the General Assembly and all state agencies to use a third party when investigating sexual harassment claims. 

Collett, the only Democrat of the four senators, said government officials and staff should be held to the highest standards. “There can be no tolerance for sexual harassment in any workplace, especially one that serves the people of our Commonwealth,” she said in a statement. 

The second bill, sponsored by Phillips Hill and Pennycuick, would mandate state lawmakers and all state agencies “to self-report the total number of monetary settlements with non-disclosure agreements as they relate to actual or threatened litigation against members or employees stemming from sexual harassment or discrimination based on sex.” The reports would be posted and published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, according to a co-sponsorship memo circulated by the bill’s sponsors. 

The legislation, if signed into law, would apply to employees at all state agencies, as well as the governor’s office, the judicial branch, the office of the attorney general, the auditor general’s office and the Pennsylvania Treasury. Both bills must be voted out of committee before receiving a vote on the Senate floor. 

Republican members in the state House are set to introduce a separate bill package concerning sexual harassment on Wednesday in the state Capitol.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.