SACRAMENTO – Assemblywoman Melissa A. Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) announced Thursday the California State Senate passed her Legislative Employee Whistleblower Protection Act, AB 403, with broad bipartisan support.
“We are one step closer to providing victims of sexual harassment the protections they deserve,” said Melendez. “No woman, or man, should ever have to risk their careers and livelihood for reporting sexual harassment or any other type of illegal behavior.”
Senate Republican Leader Patricia Bates (R- Laguna Niguel) presented AB 403 on the floor of the State Senate today.
“As a co-author of Assemblywoman Melendez’s bill, I’m encouraged that the Senate has recognized that business as usual is not going to cut it anymore. Assemblywoman Melendez deserves tremendous credit for resisting repeated attempts to bury her bill over the past four years. She – along with bipartisan allies in the capital community – persisted in pushing this bill through the Senate. The simple truth is that if it wasn’t for their determined efforts, today’s vote would never have happened,” said Senate Republican Leader Patricia Bates.
Assembly Bill 403 is one of the highest priorities advocates are seeking to end the pattern of sexual harassment and abuse in the state Capitol. The bill will extend common workplace protections to employees of the Legislature who report illegal or unethical behavior.
Melendez has made providing whistleblower protections one of her main priorities since she was elected to office in 2012. Melendez has run four prior iterations of this legislation. Every prior version received unanimous support in the Assembly and subsequent Senate policy committees only to be held up in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Under current law, the California Whistleblower Protection Act provides protection to state employees in the executive and judicial branches who report any improper or unethical activity. However, employees of the Legislature are not covered under this act.
Assembly Bill 403 is joint authored by Assembly Republican Leader Brian Dahle (R-Bieber), Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, and Assemblywoman Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), Chair of the Joint Committee on Sexual Harassment Prevention and Response, along with 61 coauthors.
AB 403 will be heard next in the State Assembly on Monday, February 5, 2018.
Assemblywoman Melissa A. Melendez represents the 67th Assembly District, which includes the communities of Lake Elsinore, Canyon Lake, Murrieta, Menifee, Wildomar and a portion of Hemet. It also includes the Riverside County unincorporated areas of Lake Mathews, Good Hope, Nuevo, and Winchester. Follow her on Twitter: @asmMelendez
4 comments
Whistle blower protection is a great benefit. However, when used in this manner it becomes a self-interest benefit and not one for the losses/gains of many. We have laws that should be strong enough to protect a victim, but the problem is the will to act. As we read with astonishment, legislature employees where left out of a protection granted to all others. We must investigate why were they left out?
Laws should be strong enough to protect a victim, and victims should be strong enough to come forward.
Some “victims” use this as a way to get even with someone like a former boss who didn’t promote them. It’s all for the money!
It seems that once someone is simply ACCUSED of sexual impropriety, this accusations sticks even after one is exonerated! If I were in such a situation, I would immediately sort to the courts to handle this and if I am proven innocent, I would not hesitate to sue the accuser!
Quit blaming the victim. Get out of denial. Men sexually harass women all the time. Thank God most men don’t do this.
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