Legislation

This legislation would have ensured that a positive drug test cannot become a roundabout way of firing or refusing to employ a patient who is lawfully using medical marijuana.

During last year’s legislative session, the ACLU was highly supportive of a special legislative commission to study sexual harassment in the workplace and the legislation that arose from it. We support the reintroduction of the legislation, which was never brought to the House floor for a vote.

A package of legislation developed as part of Rep. Teresa Tanzi's commission to study sexual harassment in the workplace could have had important and long-lasting effects. The ACLU testified in support of the entire package of legislation in June, but a few bills are especially worth highlighting.

Legislation under consideration this year would have required the use by certain state contractors of computer software to verify the hours worked on computers for that contract, but the ACLU was concerned about the inherent privacy issues in the bill.

Women nationwide earn on average just 77% of the wages earned by men, with that percentage dropping significantly for women of color. Legislation aimed to address the issue in Rhode Island by making it easier for individuals facing wage differentials to file a civil action against their employer.

This legislation was introduced in response to a recent RI Supreme Court decision narrowly interpreting the state’s Fair Employment Practices Act, which concluded that state law does not provide for individual liability against an employee who engages in discriminatory conduct in the workplace.

Legislation sought to address wage discrimination in Rhode Island by making it easier for individuals facing wage differentials to file a civil action against their employer, during which it would be up to the employer to demonstrate that the wage gap was on the basis of something other than sex.

The ACLU testified before the House Labor committee in February in opposition to legislation requiring random drug testing of employees driving state-owned vehicles.

Existing federal prohibitions against pregnancy discrimination in the workplace have proven ineffective in prevention women from facing serious workplace penalties because of their pregnancy or breastfeeding status.