July 21st, 2010
WBI Healthy Workplace Bills target workplace bullying
“New laws target workplace bullying” by Adam Cohen, Time magazine, July 21, 2010
There are some very important things they don’t tell you on career day. Chief among them is that there is a good chance that at some point during your working adult life you will have an abusive boss — the kind who uses his or her authority to torment subordinates. Bullying bosses scream, often with the goal of humiliating. They write up false evaluations to put good workers’ jobs at risk. Some are serial bullies, targeting one worker and, when he or she is gone, moving on to their next victim.
Bosses may abuse because they have impossibly high standards, are insecure or have not been properly socialized. But some simply enjoy it. Recent brain-scan research has shown that bullies are wired differently. When they see a victim in pain, it triggers parts of their brain associated with pleasure.
Worker abuse is a widespread problem — in a 2007 WBI-Zogby poll, 37% of American adults said they had been bullied at work — and most of it is perfectly legal. Workers who are abused based on their membership in a protected class — race, nationality or religion, among others — can sue under civil rights laws. But the law generally does not protect against plain old viciousness.
That may be about to change. Workers’ rights advocates have been campaigning for years to get states to enact laws against workplace bullying, and in May they scored their biggest victory. The New York state senate passed a bill that would let workers sue for physical, psychological or economic harm due to abusive treatment on the job. If New York’s Healthy Workplace Bill becomes law, workers who can show that they were subjected to hostile conduct — including verbal abuse, threats or work sabotage — could be awarded lost wages, medical expenses, compensation for emotional distress and punitive damages.
Not surprisingly, many employers oppose the bill. They argue that it would lead to frivolous lawsuits and put them at risk for nothing more than running a tight ship and expecting a lot from their workers. But supporters of the law point out that it is crafted to cover only the most offensive and deliberate abuse. The bill requires that wrongful conduct be done with “malice,” and in most cases that it has to be repeated. It also provides affirmative defenses for companies that investigate promptly and address the problem in good faith.
The New York state assembly is expected to take up the bill next year. At least 16 other states are considering similar bills, and some employment-law experts think antibullying legislation may have real momentum now.
Legislatures are not the only ones standing up to bullies. In 2008, the Indiana supreme court struck a blow against workplace bullying when it upheld a $325,000 verdict against a cardiovascular surgeon. A medical technician who operated a heart and lung machine during surgery accused the surgeon of charging at him with clenched fists, screaming and swearing. The formal legal claims were intentional infliction of emotional distress and assault, but the plaintiff argued it as a bullying case, and had an expert on workplace bullying testify at trial.
Ideally, employers should rein in abusive bosses on their own, but that rarely happens. Many bullies are close to powerful people in the organization and carefully target less powerful ones. When John Bolton was nominated to be ambassador to the U.N. by President George W. Bush, a former subordinate told the Senate that Bolton was a “serial abuser” and — in a phrase that has since entered the bullying lexicon — a “kiss-up, kick-down sort of guy.”
There are reasons workplace bullying may be getting worse now, including the bad economy. In good times, abused workers can simply walk out on a job if they are being mistreated. But with unemployment at around 9.5%, and five job seekers for every available job, many employees feel they have no choice but to stay put.
Another factor is the decline of organized labor. Unions were once a worker’s front-line defense against an abusive boss. If a supervisor was out of line, the shop steward would talk to him — on behalf of all of the workers. But union membership has fallen from 35% of the workforce in the 1950s to under 13% today, and some unions are less aggressive than they once were.
That leaves litigation. There seems to be a strong constituency for laws allowing workers to sue over workplace abuse. The vote on the Healthy Workplace Bill was bipartisan and not close: New York state senators favored it 45 to 16.
If states enact laws of this kind and lawsuits begin to be filed, juries are far more likely to sympathize with the bullied worker than the bullying boss — and damages awards could be large. There is one easy way for employers to head all of this off: get more serious about rooting out abusive bosses before serious damage is done.
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Tags: Healthy Workplace Bill, NY Senate, Time magazine, WBI-Zogby
This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 21st, 2010 at 7:16 pm and is filed under Bullying in the News, Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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In my opinion, having been the target of WB bullying, ALL states should implement the anti-bullying/antiharrassment law. Until one has walked in the shoes of a target, can you truly understand the pain, the anger, the absolute FRUSTRATION one experiences.
All of my hard work and committment to my corporation was sabatoged by a handful of people. And as Mr.Cohen explains, one in particular who had a lot of clout with the higher executives.
My gut feeling was all along this person in particular got some warped type of thrill out of seeing someone’s career and life crumble. Like the arsonists who stands back and watches his own fire. Sick and twisted.
I am in the healthcare field. Joint Commission implemented a zero tolerance policy Jan,2009. I have continued to read stories of bullying occuring in healthcare. Perhaps it is time Joint Commission either be informed by those involved and REINFORCING this policy as strictly as other policies are.
The healthcare industry is tough enough. Has been, and is only getting worse. The last thing it needs is have the shortage of nurses become shorter.
Thanks for posting this article. I hope and pray it can make a difference to at least one person. At least one bullying manager or coworker to realize, you won’t be walking away from your actions that easily in the future. And you will have to live with your actions forever, law or not.
M.D.
I have been bullied by my direct Supervisor for the past 9 months. I reported it to his Manager. Other than experiencing intensified bullying there was no action taken. In a moderated conversation designed to help us address workplace conflicts, the moderator asked the Manager what their reaction was when they got my complaint. She said she did not understand it, that is why she didnt do anything. Today I was told that an investigation was completed and failed to corroborate my complaint. I pointed out that noone had ever even asked me what the basis of my complaint was, or asked to look at any documentation. I was told that the investigation is complete.
A law is much needed. It could encourage employers to take abuse seriously and do more than sham investigations.
The sham investigation is the m.o. for HR. Whoever trains them on how to investigate needs to include in the curriculum how a worker’s safety is paramount and how the failure to find corroborating witnesses (to fearful to participate) is a telling part of the fact finding. The fact that you were not interviewed reveals their insincerity. And you’re right about the laws true purpose. Not lawsuits, but getting employers to get real.
My husband has recently been bullied at work and is now on sick leave with depression and anxiety. The new laws cannot come fast enough as far as I’m concerned.
Part of the problem is that the abuses perpetrate by workplace bullies are nearly impossible for decent human beings to believe are part of the repertoire of human behaviour. As a former target continuing to suffer, I still question whether it was real or if I somehow misinterpreted what was going on. I understand how unbelievable it is. I told my story to my supervisor, manager, co-workers, mediator, doctor, HR director and investigator, arranged a psychiatric consult (I’m fine), went to an EAP counsellor (who asked me why I stayed and identified the problem as bullying), asked for assistance repeatedly from my union representative, and appealed to government officials. While I did get some emotional support from most of these individuals, ultimately none did anything that helped me.
I resigned from the job I loved with a poor performance appraisal based on my “poor communication skills”, despite the supervisor’s contention that there were “no clinical concerns” with my work as a mental health service provider. I was denied unemployment insurance benefits despite the fact that my schedule (permanent 12 hour nights, with 60-80 hours work in alternate weeks) would have been illegal if standard employment provisions applied (they didn’t because the collective agreement allowed bi-weekly averaging). I didn’t want to leave, but felt that if I continued to allow the rest of my life to be deformed by the work schedule, I would get sick and quite possibly die (occupational health and safety research supports this belief).
I’m alive and physically healthy. I have no income and limited hope of securing employment in my field of expertise given my poor evaluation. Legislation won’t help me at this point, but I will fight for it because no human being should have to go through what I did.
I am a former employee of the US Chamber of Commerce, a Washington, DC-based organization run by a bunch of thugs. The CEO is himself a tyrant and a bully and the entire culture there is one of abuse. When I worked there the average length of employment was only 18 months. Employees left as quickly as possible because of the toxic environment. Sadly, this powerful pro-business advocacy organization would nix any anti-bullying bill introduced at the national level. Given that 50% of workers experience or witness bullying at some point in their careers, however, I still think it is worth the effort. Our national legislators need to be educated about the problem at the very least.
Wow this is a great resource.. I’m enjoying it.. good article
Often, the person being bullied is not the only victim of workplace bullying. Witnesses are often placed in a very uncomfortable position, which makes for a very counter-productive atmosphere. Also, it is not always a subordinate that is the victim. It can be a peer or colleague that is the victim of inappropriate and aggressive behaviour.
Probably the most unfortunate thing is that this kind of behaviour is not recognized as unprofessional and counterproductive and allowed or even encouraged to continue. If this is what American business culture has come to, it’s no wonder we are having difficulty competing in the global market. We can’t even work positively and cooperatively among ourselves.
While I understand the need for workplace bullying legislation, the idea that we need a law to simply stop a person from acting like a jerk (and that is the polite term) kind of gives me pause.
I had a bad experience being employed by a physican group that the supervisor was the most awful person that has walked on this earth. I come with strong experience of this postion. Supervisor made is clear in front other co-worker of she felt about me. Supervisor would express outloud of how stupid I was and would continue for 9 months before dismissing me from my job 7/23/10
I am in like a fog since this day. Please reply of how I can make peace with this situtation.
Hi,
Most crimes are easily spotted. If a homicide is suspected there must be a dead body (in most cases).
If bullying is suspected, there must be evidence.
Evidence that a person has been bullied:
He / She:
Wants to be alone more than usual.
Suffers from dizziness or headaches without medical reasons.
Doesn’t engage in events that were previously enjoyable.
Argues or is shows disrespect for superiors.
Is fearful for no apparent reason.
Avoids responsibilities. Stays home from work or school.
Does not complete assignments or completes them haphazardly.
Complains constantly.
Seems anxious or nervous.
Seems tense.
Is more disorganized than usual.
Seems to disconnect from situations.
Has a negative change in attitude.
Deliberately breaks rules, laws, or expectations
Has fears of going crazy.
Has lost significant amounts of weight without medical reason.
Lacks energy.
Jay
after 34 years as a nurse I was fired. I was bullied over a year by my new boss. Nobody would help me not HR, director of nursing or C.E.O. My coworkers abandoned me for fear of losing their job.With no job comes no health insurance no dignity,mental health problems. No one will hire me till my nursing license is cleared which will take6 to 8 months! So if I cant find a job soon that means no house. I did not deserve this and this didnt have to happen!
Dear Carol,
You are writing my story at 1:30 AM,
a time I was never awake prior to 10/1/09.
Except for the nursing license issue, my story
is the same. No restrictions on my license,
but still having difficulty getting a job,
even prn. Have excellent resume, does not
matter. So, whatever is being said…..
must be evil, just as the person suppling
the info. But, I fill victim due to my medical
history, and her continual badgering(she was a
new nurse manager who came on board 8 1/2 years
after I had worked for 1 physician) during this
time she managed to isolate me from everyone,
despite my stellar reputation, work ethic, and
known patient advocacy skills.(Many more details)
Am fighting thru EEOC and personal attorney!!
But, I am here and am praying for you and all the
others, believe me there are others, she would
never be satisifed with just one scalp!
We must unite and fight together, what is your
legal status??
Take care……….Emily RN
I am being bullied-my ex works at the same place i do -in fact she is in charge of my paycheck. she refuses to answer work emails and has gone as far as going to our office mgr (we are small company of 5 no HR dept)and making stuff up about me finding out her new address by snooping in company files when actuality i rec’d an email with her new address on it-it is complicated but needless to say she refuses to acknowledge me unless i am in her face and others see and I hate to come to work-I have lost 27 pounds in 4 months between this and real life stuff. I am looking for another job but have been unsuccessful so i am stuck in this hole and have no one to turn to.
Jay,
I am curious where you cited the list of
target characteristics.
As much research which I have done, I would have
to disagree with a few of them.
Breaking rules, laws?
Argues or shows disrespect for superiors?
Dizziness or headaches?
I too am going through hardship at work, my boss who is also owner of the company yells, belittles, basically “punks” her staff on a almost daily basis.She was upset that i didnt return a file to her office knowing she was not there to unlock her office, next day she yelled in my face, grabbed me by my shirt shaking it. I have not been back to work, have spoke to the other owner who is her husband and he is defending her after she admitted it to him. I made a police report, incident report and got an attorney, let’s see if they fight my unemployment.
This is very interesting. I am so pleased to see that something is finally being done about bullies in the workplace. Unfortunately, it is too late for me, but I am all for helping those who are the target of ignorant bosses and bully co-workers. I was doing a good job for my employer and was one of their most loyal employees. I had a perfect evaluation every year for 20 years. My “partner” who had been shuffled from one department to another for several years, because of her incompetence, did not keep up her end of the workload. I was doing the bulk of the work and working 10-12hour days to get my work and her work done. (We were on a time schedule). If I tried to say anything to my boss, she would make it look like I was “Picking” on her and he blew me off, saying it was a “girl fight”, a “cat fight” and a “personality conflict”. My partner would disappear for hours, spend the day e-mailing people and talking on the phone or just get up and go visit people throughout the hospital. One day, she passed by my desk after being gone for several hours and said “Ahhh, it was so nice outside I decided to go for a walk”. She took work off my desk and claimed it was her work product. She even had IT come over and “fix” the productivity reports in the computer to make it look like she did more work than I did. (The IT person was one of the people she kissed up to). After 6 months of this, I finally quit. I had gone to HR, my bosses, and even tried to transfer to another department to no avail. When I had difficulty finding other work, I was sure they were blackballing me, as my evaluations were impeccable and I am in a field that is in demand. Plus I have diverse experience in my area. I sued, and unfortunately, had an attorney that did not do a very good job. I could not afford the kind of attorney a huge hospital can. My attorney failed to inform me of my court date (she barely let me know about my own deposition!). So the judge dismissed the case because I “didn’t show up”. I think my attorney wanted to go to appeals from the start, but I told her I could not afford to drag it out. It took 2 years as it was.
So now, I have this black mark on my record, that I sued a former employer. The bulk of my experience was with them, but I can’t use them as a reference. And I have lost all the friends I had at that place. I am still the victim. This all happened 10 years ago, I don’t think these laws were very well known then. I know that the Joint Commission on Healthcare Accreditation just came on board in 2008. At least time heals, and I am in a job I love now, with people I really like. The people I work for are incredible and I look at it this way, everything that happened to me in the past got me to where I am today.
But I am glad to see that with the passing of this bill, others will not have to go through what I did. It really kills your self-esteem. And it destroyed my faith in the legal system.
“Bullying”, no matter where or why, is psychological abuse, and is the exact same thing as domestic abuse, and abuse is abuse, no matter how you slice it.
Will a Federal No Bullying Law prevent bullies from bullying/abusing other’s ?
Why do some people bully other’s ?
Personally, I think bullying is just a sociopathic part of the human condition, and some are bullies.
Unfortunately for those who have managed to rise above the need to abuse other’s and coexist peacefully, they offer a tantalising target.
Once one is bullied, one is never the same again, and if one has never experienced being bullied, then one cannot fully appreciate or understand the insidious and devastating effects bullying causes.
In my opinion, creating laws does not change criminal behavior or change the effect bullying has on the target. Laws may help prevent some bullying, but bullies bully and will continue to do so, regardless of a law. People still kill each other eventhough there are laws against it, do you think bullying will all of sudden stop because there is a law ?
I believe that in order to eradicate bullying, we must change our perceptions. The perception that “human” relationships are the most important value.
Instead of rewarding and honoring aggressive behaviour, reward sensitivity and civility.
Agreed. It’s our socialization and less than our genes. Militarism is the foundation for all things aggressive. In the U.S., militarism reigns.
Not only does it reign, it pours !