By Tina VanderWal
The Olympian
November 12, 2007
A workplace bullying bill was introduced to the state Legislature in 2005. That bill died. But I recently discovered that a new version emerged, House Bill 2142. That bill will be coming before the House Commerce and Labor Committee in a public hearing in January.
The new bill is designed to provide "legal redress for employees who have been harmed psychologically, physically or economically, by being deliberately subjected to abusive work environments; and to provide legal incentives for employers to prevent and respond to mistreatment of employees at work."
"Abusive work environment" is defined as "a workplace where an employee is subjected to abusive conduct that is so severe that it causes physical or psychological harm to the employee."
In the new bill, workplace bullying is referred to as "abusive conduct" that is conduct by an employer or employee in the workplace, done with malice, that a reasonable person would find hostile, offensive and unrelated to an employer's legitimate business interests."
As before, the abusive conduct includes everything from oral abuse such as the use of derogatory remarks, insults and epithets; to verbal or physical conduct that a reasonable person would find threatening, intimidating or humiliating. The new bill includes another category into workplace bullying, "gratuitous sabotage or undermining of a person's work performance" with the caveat that a single act normally will not constitute abusive conduct, unless it is especially severe and egregious.
The new bill uses recent research to strengthen the claim that such bullying has a negative effect upon the workplace and draws a clear connection to all other illegal harassment, stating clearly that it must be stopped by the employer or there will be legal consequences.
It also encourages employers to stop the bullying of employees, by allowing them to submit the actions they took when informed of bullying as an affirmative defense in some situations.
This is just a thumbnail view of the bill. For more information you can access the entire text of the bill on www.bullybusters.org.
Since, 2005, more research has been done on workplace bullying. Zogby pollsters found:
Bullying is four times more prevalent than any illegal discriminatory harassment.
37 percent of U.S. workers are bullied. That makes bullying a serious concern for employees and employers.
73 percent of bullies are bosses, and 55 percent of those bullied are rank-and-file employees.
Of those bullied, 57 percent are women. One interesting number that came out of this poll is that 71 percent of women are bullied by other women. Male bullies tend to pick their targets more equally from both sexes.
45 percent of those bullied suffered stress-related health complications.
77 percent of those bullied were forced to leave their jobs. Bullying caused the turnover of 21 million workers.
The toll that workplace bullying has taken in the United States on both the targeted employee and the workplace is frightening. As the bill enters the Legislature, I will continue to monitor its progress and keep you abreast of developments.
Tina VanderWal is a human resources specialist with the state and a columnist for The Olympian. She can be reached at tinav@wildblue.net.
