Following the House of Representatives sustaining her veto of HB 591, Governor Maggie Hassan issued the following statement:
"A respectful workplace is critical to ensuring productivity and fairness for all of our state employees, and I understand the real concerns raised by some individual employees. House Bill 591 was well-intentioned and attempted to address important concerns, but it was too broadly written, containing a number of poorly defined and unworkable provisions that would lead to a dramatic increase in unwarranted litigation. I remain committed to ensuring that every state employee works in a safe and respectful environment. In the last 18 months, we have launched a new Respect in the Workplace program and greatly expanded the training we are offering supervisors. I believe we can build on these efforts, and I will be asking the Director of Personnel to work with our employees and state agencies to continue to build on and improve our efforts to promote respect in the workplace."