Workplace Bully Worries
October 01, 2008
By Margery Weinstein
You thought you were rid of them at the end of middle school, but no such luck. Bullies, as you've probably noticed by now, thrive in offices, too. They usually aren't after your lunch, but are just as, if not more, threatening. It's so bad, 13 states have considered "healthy workplace legislation," which would prohibit bullying in the workplace. Although no state so far has passed the proposed statutes, they would prohibit employers from creating or permitting "abusive conduct" or an "abusive work environment," according to Pepper Hamilton LLP, a multi-practice law firm. Here are some answers to FAQs about workplace bullying that Pepper Hamilton says your company ought to know about:
• "The various proposed laws define 'abusive conduct' broadly as conduct of an employer or another employee that a reasonable person would find hostile or offensive," says Susan K. Lessack, a partner with Pepper Hamilton's Labor and Employment Group. The states that have considered healthy workplace legislation are: New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Massachusetts, and California.
• If workplace bullying laws are enacted, employers will face lawsuits raising legal issues that have been dismissed easily under current laws against discrimination, says Lessack. "For example, it is well-settled law that discrimination laws do not impose a 'civility code' on employers, and that mean-spirited behavior in the workplace is usually not unlawful if it is not based on an employee's protected class, such as his or her gender or race. Under the proposed workplace bullying laws, such behavior may be actionable. The proposed laws would invite courts and juries to scrutinize the way people treat each other at work."
• Workplace bullying generally refers to harassment that is not necessarily based on an employee's protected characteristics, she explains, but, "like harassment based on a protected characteristic, bullying can adversely affect physical and emotional health." In fact, Lessack notes, some researchers concluded that workplace bullying actually has more severe consequences on employees than sexual harassment.
• "The difficulty for employers is that different employees subjected to the same conduct often will perceive it differently," adds Lessack. "What one employee feels is bullying may not trouble another worker."
• She recommends employers take the following steps to minimize the risk of workplace bullying claims: Have policies in place that make it clear bullying behaviors will not be tolerated; provide an employee handbook emphasizing that workers must treat each other with respect; encourage employees who feel bullied to report the conduct, much the same as discriminatory harassment complaints are handled; and treat and investigate bullying complaints seriously. Depending on the results of the investigation, employers should take appropriate remedial actions, if warranted.
|
RSS
