Workplace Bullying and Employment Law

Cogent Business & Management, 2016

Workplace bullying detrimentally impacts the bullied worker, co-workers, and potentially the entirety of the organization in which it takes place. Many nations, other than the United States, have long since recognized this impact and have implemented laws which provide injured parties a means to seek redress of their situations. Since there are no specific independent causes of action to address bullying in the workplace at either the Federal or State level, affected employees in the US face significant legal hurdles when seeking remedies to their situations. However, as evidenced by recent laws enacted by legislatures in Utah, Tennessee, and California and an employment policy enacted by a county in Georgia, a changing tide may be occurring. Court cases referencing workplace bullying have been analyzed in prior research, but there appears to be a gap in the analysis of United States' State court cases consisting of those reported between January 2009 and 31 December 2015. Content analysis was utilized in order to bring research up to date. Injured parties and their legal representatives, as well as employers who are interested in potentially minimizing claims, creating better workplaces, and improving productivity may benefit from the findings of this study.

Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 2010

Using policy-capturing methodology, this study examined the nature of workplace bullying in a random sample of 45 litigated cases in the United States. Among the findings were that most of the cases were in the District Court. Nearly one-fifth of the cases involved physical violence, the majority of the cases were in the public sector, and the supervisor was the perpetrator in many of the cases. The presence of a policy banning workplace bullying was present in slightly more than one-third of the cases. A striking finding was that 73.3% of the cases were found in favor of the employer as the defendant. These findings support the fact that even though there are no specific workplace bullying laws in the U.S., victims of workplace bullying can be legally protected. Implications for managerial practice and future research are suggested.

2015

The purpose of this paper is to address why and how businesses should promote healthy work environments, to stimulate awareness of workplace bullying and its negative impact on employee health, to explore current and prospective anti-workplace bullying laws, and to present employer and employee responsive strategies to combat this business challenge. Despite the plethora of information about bullying and the adverse effect that it has on individuals, incidents of workplace bullying still persist. Principal research results reveal that effectively handling workplace issues which disrupt employee productivity, morale, and attendance is paramount to fostering a physically, psychologically, and financially sound work environment and business. Major research conclusions find that state legislatures and business managers should be proactive in safeguarding healthy work environments by enacting laws and employer policies that prohibit workplace bullying. By ignoring these situations, manag...

2012

Before it happened to me, I used to think that employees who were given a hard time by their bosses probably deserved it. As long as I worked hard and took pride in my work, I had nothing to worry about. I was wrong. I became " a target shortly after a co-worker made a false allegation against me. My manager began a campaign to drive me out of the workplace by replacing my duties with menial tasks, denying time off, refusing to speak to me except to reprimand, writing me up for minor and contrived infractions, sabotaging my work, enlisting others to monitor and criticize my work, and physically intimidating me. I am still hanging on after several months because I cannot afford to quit and job prospects are slim in this economy. No one in a civilized society should have to endure such mistreatment to earn a living."' I. INTRODUCTION Workplace bullying is an issue that has received significant attention in recent years. The Workplace Bullying Institute 2 defines workplace'bullying as the repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons, which takes one or more of the following forms: verbal abuse, offensive conduct or threatening behavior, humiliation or intimidation or work interference that prevents work from getting done. Existing legal remedies are Juris Doctor, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, expected 2013. lThis is Krystal's story, posted along with other personal stories of workplace bullying on the California Healthy Workplace Advocates. See Stop Workplace Bullying, http://www.bullyfreeworkplace.org (last visited Mar. 30, 2012). 2 The Workplace Bullying Institute is an organization dedicated to the eradication of workplace bullying that combines help for individuals, research, books, public education, training for professionals and legislative advocacy. Workplace Bullying Institute, WORKPLACE BULLYING INST., http://www.workplacebullying.org/ (last visited Mar. 30, 2012). Dr. Gary Namie founded the Workplace Bullying Institute fourteen years ago with his wife, Ruth, after she fell prey to on-the-job bullying.

2020

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.

Comparative Labor Law And Policy Journal, 2010

This issue brings together eight contributions from legal scholars and specialists in workplace bullying from four continents, who report on the state of the law governing a specific form of workplace abuse alternatively described as workplace bullying, psychological harassment, moral harassment, victimization, or mobbing.

2021

Introduction and References for Chapter 4 of Human Resource Perspectives on Workplace Bullying in Higher Education: Understanding Vulnerable Employees' Experiences. Full text available on amazon.com

2010

Adult bullying at work is shockingly common and enormously destructive. In an in-depth analysis of 148 organizations worldwide, "workplaces evidencing bullying on a relatively routine basis [made] up 49% of the total analyzed" (Hodson, Roscigno, & Lopez, 2006, p. 391). U.S. studies also suggest alarming prevalence rates. During any given 6 to 12 month period, up to 13 percent of workers are bullied on the job; this increases significantly when counting those bullied anytime during their careers (30%, This chapter reviews the current literature regarding the history of bullying research, the factors associated with bullying onset, its consequences or effects, and various avenues for prevention and intervention. Following conventions in bullying research, we refer to those bullied as targets and bullies as actors, bullies, or perpetrators.

Academia Green Energy, 2024

This paper evaluates the existing energy policy in Iran, focusing on the nation's heavy reliance on fossil fuels and the implications of such dependency. With one of the world’s highest energy intensities, Iran's energy consumption significantly overshadows its economic output, largely due to subsidized energy prices discourage efficient use. The study highlights the economic, environmental, and societal challenges stemming from this unsustainable energy consumption, including excessive natural resources depletion, environmental degradation, and economic inefficiencies. It proposes a strategic shift towards renewable energy sources, outlining necessary domestic and foreign policy changes to facilitate this transition. Key recommendations include restructuring energy pricing, enhancing public awareness, improving energy efficiency, and fostering international collaborations to support the development of cleaner energy technologies.