Petition: End Workplace Bullying, Retaliation, and Abuse of Power

Title: Protect Workers. Strengthen Accountability. End Workplace Bullying and Retaliation.

Every worker deserves to be treated with dignity, respect, and fairness.

Across our nation, many employees experience workplace bullying, harassment, intimidation, retaliation, work sabotage, public humiliation, isolation, and abuse of authority after speaking up about concerns. Too many people fear reporting misconduct because they worry about losing their job, their income, their reputation, or future employment opportunities.

No one should have to choose between doing the right thing and protecting their livelihood.

We call on lawmakers and public leaders to strengthen protections for workers by:

Enacting clear legal definitions of workplace bullying, retaliation, and abuse of authority so harmful conduct can be identified, reported, and addressed consistently.
Requiring every employer to adopt written anti-bullying and anti-retaliation policies, with clear complaint procedures, investigation steps, and disciplinary consequences.
Creating mandatory reporting timelines so complaints are acknowledged quickly, investigated promptly, and resolved within a defined period unless there is a documented reason for delay.
Requiring independent investigations for serious complaints, with investigators who are not connected to the accused supervisor, manager, or department.
Establishing confidential and anonymous reporting channels that are accessible to all employees and protected from interference by management.
Prohibiting retaliation in all forms, including termination, demotion, schedule cuts, exclusion from meetings, negative references, intimidation, and subtle workplace punishment after a complaint is made.
Requiring employers to preserve records related to complaints, emails, performance reviews, disciplinary actions, and investigation findings to prevent evidence from being lost or altered.
Imposing meaningful consequences for retaliation and abuse of power, including corrective action, suspension, termination, civil penalties, and reinstatement or compensation where appropriate.
Creating external oversight mechanisms, such as an independent workplace ombuds office or labor authority review, for cases where internal investigations are biased, delayed, or ignored.
Requiring annual public reporting from employers on the number of complaints received, the types of allegations reported, the average time to resolution, and the outcomes of investigations, while protecting employee privacy.
Mandating regular training for managers, supervisors, and human resources staff on bullying prevention, retaliation prevention, trauma-informed response, and lawful complaint handling.
Protecting whistleblowers and good-faith reporters from retaliation, blacklisting, forced resignation, and other career damage after raising concerns.
Expanding access to legal aid, advocacy services, and worker support resources for employees who cannot afford representation.
Ensuring workplace policies comply with human rights law and protect every employee’s right to dignity, equality, safety, and freedom from abuse.
Requiring employers to review and correct patterns of repeated complaints, not just isolated incidents, so harmful workplace cultures are addressed before more workers are harmed.
This petition is not about one person.

It is about every employee who has ever been afraid to speak the truth.

It is about every young adult entering the workforce who deserves a safe place to work.

It is about building workplaces where integrity is rewarded instead of punished.

Together, we can encourage change by supporting stronger protections, greater accountability, and workplaces where every employee is treated with dignity and respect in accordance with human rights law.

Sign this petition if you believe no one should face bullying, harassment, intimidation, or retaliation for speaking up about wrongdoing.