Bullies In The Workplace

Bullying is different from harassment.  Harassment is a type of illegal discrimination that a reasonable person would find unwelcome or offensive and serious enough to adversely affect a person's job.  The harassment must be closely related to race/color, religion (also called creed), sex, national origin, marital status, disability, HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C status, gender identity/sexual orientation, and honorably discharged veteran and military status to be illegal.

Workplace bullying, however, is not illegal in the U.S.  It is behavior that harms, intimidates, offends, degrades or humiliates an employee, possibly in front of other employees, clients, or customers.  Workplace bullying may cause the loss of trained and talented employees, reduce productivity and morale and creates legal risks.

Tough or demanding bosses are not necessarily bullies, as long as their primary motivation is to obtain the best performance by setting realistic high expectations.  However, bosses can indeed be bullies and when they don't get their way and they put the blame on "underperforming" employees.  When push comes to shove, you'll need to be able to prove that your so-called underperformance was not a result of anything you did, but rather was caused by the harmful effects of bullying.

Bullying is the workplace is a serious problem.  Staff turnover and sick leave can be high while morale and productivity will be low.

Bullying behavior also leads to real and serious physical and emotional problems for the individuals they target, including but not limited to damage to their self-esteem and confidence, anxiety, depression, gastrointestinal disorders, headaches, insomnia, exhaustion, poor concentration, and substance abuse. 

Low self-esteem and a negative organizational climate suppress creativity and hamper employees’ abilities to respond to difficult situations or challenging goals. 

Here's What Victims Can Do About It

Bullying is about control so you'll need to disarm the attacker in order to fight back.

Keep a journal detailing the nature of the bullying that includes dates, times, places, what was said or done and who was present.  Do not keep this information on your work computer.  You want it in your possession at home to prevent it from being stolen.

Hard copies are gold because they are physical proof so keep copies of harassing / bullying paper trails; hold onto copies of documents that contradict the bully’s accusations against you like time sheets, audit reports, etc., to prove the accusations against you are false, an alibi if you will.

File a complaint with your supervisor or human resources department, but never hand over your only copies of documents if requested.  Things have a way of disappearing.  Make sure you keep your own copies off the premises.  FYI:  Under California law, while the employer is strictly liable for the harassment by a victim's supervisor, the employer is liable for harassment by a co-worker only if the employer knew or had a reason to know of the harassment.  Thus, by not complaining about harassment, the victim virtually forecloses the future opportunity to seek legal redress for hostile work environment and harassment.  

If you have to hand over documents, don't be too quick about it.  Say something like, "Give me a day or two to get them together."  Then at home that evening, make a cover sheet of what you're giving to them and when so that months later if you are questioned, you can without a doubt say, "Yes, I did give a printed copy of the email to so and so in HR." Or, "I showed my boss a copy of the note that was written about me."

If at all possible, make a copy of that cover sheet and when you give your supporting documents to your boss or HR department, have them sign and date it to prove that you did provide them with the copies.  Tell them you need a copy for your records to prove that they've been provided copies.  If they refuse to sign off, document that, too.

Your journal is going to be your timeline of the bullying events. 

This is extreme, but needs to be said.  If the bullying gets physical to where you feel you're in danger of bodily injury or your property is being damaged such as the bully keyed your car door or threw eggs at your house, get the police involved. 

"At a minimum, the bullies themselves could be sued individually for their own intentional tortious conduct. An employer would be liable for the intentional tortious acts of its employees if it knows of the bad acts and takes no action to terminate those acts or discipline the employee who is committing those bad acts. Punitive damages are available for tortious acts committed maliciously or oppressively."  -Pepperdine University

Regardless of who does the bullying, be it a co-worker or boss, you must, must, MUST protect yourself from retaliation for reporting the person so that you do not get terminated.  And the best laid plan is one that is done ahead of time. 

There are secret legal ways that you can join into a protected class(es) that will protect you from getting fired or being retaliated against.  There are work and employment laws that your boss doesn't want you to know about.  You won't learn these secrets even if you go out and hire your own attorney.

You need a proven winner on your side to win the employment game with the secret strategies that have made the author of Work Laws Exposed a proven winner in negotiations and in court, and that only comes from over a decade of learning all the legal tricks, loopholes, and neglected rights that most people don't even know they have.

With the Undercover Lawyer and the "Workplace Laws Exposed" book you will be a winner.  Order today and have it within minutes.

Work Laws Exposed is backed by a 60-Day Money Back Guarantee.  The author has a B.A., a J.D., and a M.A. Graduate degrees come from Yale and the University of California.