A bill that would update the definition of workplace harassment was approved Wednesday night by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senate Bill 23-172, titled the Protecting Opportunities and Workers’ Rights Act, would remove the “severe or pervasive” standard used to establish harassment. Part of the new definition also includes: “whether the conduct would be offensive to a reasonable person in the same actual or perceived protected class or who shares the same or similar characteristics as the individual subjected to the conduct must be determined by a review of the totality of the circumstances…”
Business groups like the Colorado Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business testified in opposition to SB 23-172, while attorneys representing various organizations testified in favor of the bill.