Committee adopts revisions to workplace harassment policy, adds informal resolution option

The Legislative Procedure Arrangements Committee voted to adopt revisions to the Legislative Assembly’s policy against workplace harassment (LC 27.9155.01000).

Liz Fordall, legislative counsel, walked the committee through the proposed changes, which include a clarification that conduct the complainant finds rude is not harassment unless it is pervasive or severe; extending the intake checklist deadline from 24 to 48 hours; offering an informal-resolution option before appointing a review panel; extending the review-panel first-meeting deadline from 72 hours to seven days; setting a 25-day investigation target (extendable to 75 days total); and explicitly describing how sections 44-04-18.1 and 44-04-18.6 of state law affect disclosure and exempt status of investigative records.

“The change here is from 24 hours to complete that to 48 hours to complete that just to offer a little bit more time,” Fordall said, describing the intake-checklist revision. She also described the new option for leadership to refer matters to informal resolution and to document agreements reached in Legislative Council records.

Senator Hogan and other members praised the revisions for formalizing Legislative Council’s role and providing diversion options that may help resolve matters without a formal complaint. Representative Novak moved to adopt the proposed revisions and Representative Novak was recorded as seconding; a roll-call vote recorded multiple affirmative responses and the chair declared the motion carried.

Roll-call entries in the transcript show Chairman Klein, Senator Hogan, Senator Hogue, Senator Roars, Representative Ista, Representative Dobrevitch, Representative Haggard, Representative LaFore, Representative Novak, Representative Pyle and Representative Weiss recorded as voting in the affirmative; the chair declared the motion carried. The committee then scheduled an executive-session security briefing for 1:00 p.m.

The adopted policy changes emphasize timelier intake and additional informal-resolution pathways while preserving statutory exemptions for certain Legislative Council communications and investigative records.