Are Workplace Bullies Sabotaging Your Ability to Compete?
Learn to identify and extinguish problem behavior
by Linnea B. McCord, JD, MBA, and John Richardson, DMin, MBA
LINK

Innovation, performance, and healthy communication flourish in a "bully-free" environment.

To succeed in this economic environment, organizations must be able to inspire all levels of employees to be innovative or risk being overtaken by more nimble and creative competitors. In a hyper-competitive global economy, where competition is no longer limited by geography or industry, new formidable competitors can arise seemingly overnight.1 In such an environment, one of the surest ways for an organization to fail is to tolerate workplace bullying. Bullies not only stifle productivity and innovation throughout the organization, they most often target an organization's best employees, because it is precisely those employees who are the most threatening to bullies. As a result, enterprises are robbed of their most important asset in today's competitive economic environment - precious human capital.

The problem with workplace bullying is that many bullies are hard to identify because they operate surreptitiously under the guise of being civil and cooperative. Although workplace bullying is being discussed more than ever before, and there may eventually be specific legislation outlawing such behavior, organizations cannot afford to wait for new laws to eradicate the bullies in their midst. In order to survive, organizations must root out workplace bullying before it squelches their employees' creativity and productivity, or even drives out their best employees, thus fatally impacting an organization's ability to compete in this new era. The purpose of this article is to review current research on workplace bullying, to help organizations learn how to identify bullies, and to suggest ways that an organization can eliminate this workplace toxin.

How to Identify Bullying Behavior

Recent commentators have used different ways to describe bullying behavior, but they agree that a bully is only interested in maintaining his or her power and control.2 Because bullies are cowards and are driven by deep-seated insecurities and fears of inadequacy, they intentionally wage a covert war against an organization's best employees - those who are highly-skilled, intelligent, creative, ethical, able to work well with others, and independent (who refuse to be subservient or controlled by others).3 Bullies can act alone or in groups.4 Bullying behavior can exist at any level of an organization. Bullies can be superiors, subordinates, co-workers and colleagues.5

Some bullies are obvious - they throw things, slam doors, engage in angry tirades, and are insulting and rude. Others, however, are much more subtle. While appearing to be acting reasonably and courteously on the surface, in reality they are engaging in vicious and fabricated character assassination, petty humiliations and small interferences, any one of which might be insignificant in itself, but taken together over a period of time, poison the working environment for the targeted individuals.6

Bullying is not about being "tough" or insisting on high standards.7 It is "abusive disrespect."8 In Dr. Hornstein's view bullies fall into 3 types:

Characteristics

Conquerors: Only interested in power and control and protecting their turf.
They try to make others feel less powerful. Can act DIRECTLY (e.g.
insulting and/or rude words or gestures, (or tones) or INDIRECTLY ( e.g.
orchestrating battles and watching others disembowel each other).

Performers Suffer from low self-esteem so belittle targeted persons (can be obvious or
subtle put-downs).

Manipulators Interested only in themselves. Easily threatened and vindictive.
Experts at lying, deceiving and betraying. Take credit for the work of others.
Never take responsibility for their own "errors."

Source: Dr. Harvey Hornstein; Brutal Bosses and Their Prey: How to Identify and Overcome Abuse in the Workplace.9

Bullying is not about a "clash of personalities," a "misunderstanding," or "miscommunication."10 According to two psychologists who have conducted surveys on bullying, (1) bullies use surprise and secrecy to gain leverage over those targeted,11 (2) they are never interested in meeting someone else halfway so trying to negotiate with a bully is useless,12 (3) they routinely practice psychological violence against specific individuals whom they intentionally try to harm which is devastating to the targeted person's emotional stability "and can last a long time."13 According to the Namies, this psychological violence can take many forms:

Characteristics

The Constant
Critic "(P)ut-downs, insults, belittling comments, name-calling." Constantly criticizes the
targeted person's competence. Glares at the targeted person or deliberately avoids
eye contact when the targeted person speaks. "(N)egatively reacts to the targeted
person's contributions with sighs, frowns or the "just sucked a lemon look."
"(B)lames the targeted person for fabricated errors." "Makes unreasonable
demands for work with impossible deadlines."

The Two-Headed
Snake Pretends to be nice while sabotaging the targeted person - one minute vicious, the
next minute supportive and encouraging. Ensures that the targeted person doesn't
have the necessary resources to do the work. Makes nasty, rude or hostile remarks
to the targeted person privately; puts on friendly face in public. Steals credit for work
done by the targeted person. Says one thing to the targeted person and something
completely different behind the targeted person's back. Will "kiss up the ladder and
attack those below."

The Gatekeeper Purposefully cuts the targeted person out of the communication loop.
Ignores the targeted individual or gives that person the "silent treatment." Models
isolation or exclusion of the targeted person for others.

The Screaming Mimi Poisons the workplace with angry outbursts. Intimidates through
gestures. Purposefully interrupts the targeted person during meetings and
conversations. Discounts/denies the targeted person's thoughts or feelings.

Source: Gary and Ruth Namie; The Bully at Work: What You Can Do to Stop the Hurt and Reclaim Your Dignity on the Job.14

According to the Namie's research: (1) "Bullies are inadequate, defective and poorly developed people. Targets are empathetic, just and fair people,"15 (2) "Bullies start all conflict and trouble. Targets react."16 (3) "Targets don't deserve or want what they get. Bullies are liars and cowards,"17 and (4) "Good employers purge bullies. Bad ones promote them."18

Identifying "Group Bullying" Behavior: "Mobbing"

Mobbing19 (group bullying) occurs where one bully, "(t)hrough innuendo, rumors, and public discrediting"…, creates a hostile environment for the targeted person and, "gathers others to willingly, or unwillingly, participate in continuous malevolent actions to force a person out of (a job or) the workplace."20 When the mobbing behavior finally does result in resignation, termination, or early retirement from a job or the workplace, the targeted person is portrayed as being at fault and "voluntarily" leaving.21 Mobbing in an organization is like cancer in that, "beginning with one malignant cell, it can spread quickly, destroying vital elements of the organization."22

Bullying Results in Real Physical and Emotional Injury

All of the authors agree that bullying behavior 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.23

How to Eliminate Bullies From Your Organization

Since bullies are often skilled at hiding their actions behind a veil of overt friendliness, helpfulness and cooperation, organizations must establish processes and procedures to uncover their actions. An accidental bully, when confronted with his or her behavior, will quickly apologize and the behavior never happens again.24 An intentional bully denies that the behavior is occurring and continues to repeat it.25

Bullies are driven by their own fears and insecurities, therefore they rarely can be cured, but their behavior can be controlled or eradicated. Eradicating bullying behavior from an organization starts at the top because it is the head of any organization that sets the tone for whether bullying behavior will be accepted.26 An organization reflects the values, attitudes, and actions of its leadership. Leaders who ignore, or otherwise allow, these destructive behavior patterns to occur, are eroding the health of their organizations and opening the door for some of their best talent to escape from this upsetting and counterproductive environment.

To eradicate bullying, employers should:

1. Establish an anti-bullying policy27 defining what bullying is and giving some common sense descriptions of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors at work. Included in such a policy should be a statement that the organization supports the right of all employees to work in an environment free from bullying. This will give targeted individuals a context and a constructive way to confront the bullying tactics.

2. Conduct climate surveys28 to uncover bullying behavior, provided that these surveys are sent to a neutral-third party for review and confidentiality is guaranteed. Unless this is done, respondents will not feel free to express their true feelings.

3. Establish reporting, investigation and mediation processes, guaranteeing those who avail themselves of these processes that there will be no retaliation against them.29 Because bullying is often duplicitous and slippery to detect, it can be risky for others to complain. This is especially true when bullying has become part of an organizational culture. Rather than fight the "mob," many talented people move on to a healthier workplace. Therefore, a clear statement and enforcement of an anti-retaliation policy is essential.

4. Train all employees to ensure that everyone is aware of his and her responsibility to conduct themselves in a professional, civil, and businesslike manner.30 Top management reinforcement of the "zero-tolerance for bullying behavior" at new employee orientation sessions can help. Employees should be taught how to recognize the first signs of the bullying/mobbing process.31

Current Legal Protections Against Bullying

The American legal system has been hesitant to legislate manners or civility in the workplace (outside of the civil rights laws) but this attitude might soon change because of the new requirements for success in a hyper-competitive global economy.32 As the problem becomes more recognized and acknowledged, legal remedies will no doubt be found.33 They may take the form of new laws directly addressing the issue, perhaps through the inclusion of those who are bullied as a protected class under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This has been the preferred avenue in the past for workers seeking relief for discrimination-related unfavorable treatment in the workplace. This Act, among other things, permits relief for protected classes based on a "hostile work environment" theory. A "hostile work environment" means the workplace is permeated with "discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult" so severe or pervasive "that it alter(s) the conditions of the victim's employment and create(s) an abusive working environment."34

Even under current law, employers should be especially vigilant to make sure that individuals targeted by the bullies are not members of protected classes who might be able to establish claims against the employer under existing discrimination laws. Federal courts have not yet extended the hostile workplace doctrine to prohibit workplace bullying conduct based on characteristics other than those specifically enumerated in Title VII, but history suggests that there will be an expansion of protection to those who suffer this type of workplace harassment.35

In the meantime, the preferred avenue for workers seeking relief for abusive treatment in the workplace has been the state common law tort claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress. Although currently such workplace-related claims might be difficult to win, those who practice, condone, or accept bullying behavior should not take much comfort in that. After all, the tobacco companies were able to successfully defend themselves against claims for years until the tide recently turned, resulting in numerous and staggering multi-billion dollar verdicts against the tobacco companies.

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.

However, the issue of bullying should not be addressed simply as a way to avoid lawsuits or other negative reactions. Creating a "bully-free" environment is a proactive step that should be taken to improve the company's strategic position in today's highly-competitive global economy. By creating a "bully-free" environment, an organization can create a culture of respect in which innovation, performance, and healthy communication can flourish. To become a top performer in any industry, an organization must be able to recognize and rid itself of this performance and talent-robbing behavior or risk losing their single most important competitive asset - their talented employees. Eradicating bullying is not "nice to do,' it's a "must do." The survival of the organization in the 21st century depends on it.

Endnotes

1. Gary Hamel, Leading the Revolution, Harvard Business School Press, 2000, p. 5-6.

2. See, e.g. Dr. Harvey Hornstein, Brutal Bosses and Their Prey: How to Identify and Overcome Abuse in the Workplace, Riverhead Books, 1996, at 51 ; Gary and Ruth Namie, The Bully at Work , What You Can Do to Stop the Hurt and Reclaim Your Dignity on the Job, Sourcebooks, Inc. 2000, at 13, 69-70.

3. The Bully at Work, 2000, at 14, 38- 46, 82, Noa Davenport, Ruth Distler Schwartz, Gail Pursell Elliott, Mobbing: Emotional Abuse In the Workplace, Civil Society Publishing, 1999, at 58.

4. Mobbing, supra note 3.

5. Id.

6. The Bully at Work, supra note 2, at 3-4. "Unchecked...bullying quickly escalates into a hostile, poisoned workplace where everyone suffers. If ignored long enough, the entire organization is placed at risk, facing preventable trauma or litigation." Id. at 4; Mobbing, supra note 3, at 20.

7. Brutal Bosses, supra note 2, at 10.

8. Id. at 4.

9. Id. at 50-60.

10. The Bully at Work , supra note 2 at p. 73.

11. Id. at xi.

12. Id. If allowed to continue, the targeted person's personality "gets trampled, bent out of recognition even" to the targeted person. Id. at 5.

13. Id. at 5.

14. Id. at 19-33. This is not an exhaustive list - only some examples of bullying behavior. Id.

15. Id. at 14.

16. Id. at 18.

17. Id. at 5.

18. Id. at 33.

19. Id at 20. "….Co-workers, colleagues, superiors and subordinates attack their dignity, integrity and competence, repeatedly, over a number of weeks, months, or years. At the end, they resign, voluntarily or involuntarily, are terminated, or forced into early retirement. This is mobbing- workplace expulsion through emotional abuse." Id. "Because the organization ignores, condones or even instigates the behavior, it can be said that the victim, seemingly helpless against the powerful and many, is indeed "mobbed". The result is always injury - physical and mental distress or illness and social misery and, most often, expulsion from the workplace." Id. at 40.

20. Id. at 33. Mobbing is a household word in some European countries. Laws against mobbing behavior have been enacted in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Germany and have been proposed in the UK and Australia. Id. at 26-27.

21. Mobbing, supra note 3, at 41. The hallmark of mobbing behavior is an initial unresolved conflict that is preventing the targeted person from accomplishing his or her job in the most effective way. The targeted person tries with good intent to resolve the situation in a constructive way, never realizing that the people he or she is dealing with have already decided to get rid of him or her, which is "revealed in attacks of various sorts: humiliation, ridicule, stigmatization, ostracism, exclusion and isolation." Id. at 159. This leads the targeted person to suffer "self-doubt," "…confusion, tension, anger and depression." Id. These unresolved conflicts intensify and are magnified until the targeted person is suffering severe emotional distress. The more the targeted person attempts to find recourse the more those who are doing the mobbing create reasons why the issue cannot be resolved. Id. at 160. Because those doing the mobbing have no intention of resolving the conflict, the conflict escalates until it is virtually unmanageable. The targeted person becomes very ill or depressed, work suffers and it is only a matter of time before the targeted person is terminated, resigns or retires. Id. The expulsion of the targeted person was predetermined by those doing the mobbing from the very start and there was nothing the targeted person could have done to resolve the issue (therein lies the "crazy-making"). Id. at 159.

22. Id. at 34.

23. See, The Bully at Work, pp. 60-61, Mobbing, pp. 90-95, Brutal Bosses and Their Prey, pp. 74- 77, for a more comprehensive list of physical and emotional consequences for the targeted person.

24. Bully at Work, supra note 2, at 17.

25. Mobbing, supra note 3, at 23.

26. Id. at 132.

27. Mobbing, p. 144.

28. Id. at 155.

29. Id. at p. 142.

30. Id. at p. 143.

31. Id.

32. See, e.g., Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Servs., Inc., 523 U.S. 75, 80-81 (1998).

33. See e.g. David C. Yamada, The Phenomenon of "Workplace Bullying" and the Need for Status - Blind Hostile Work Environment Protection," GEORGETOWN LAW J. Mar. 2000.

34. Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc., 510 U.S. at 22.; see also Rogers v. EEOC, 454 F.2d 234 (5th Circuit 1971).

35. Mobbing, supra note 3, at 21 citing work by Dr. Carroll Brodsky who defined harassment as "behavior that 'involves repeated and persistent attempts by one person to torment, wear down, frustrate, or get a reaction from another. It is behavior that persistently provokes, pressures, frightens, intimidates..." Id. at 22.

Comments (20)

recently i was the victim of bullying and was fired.i only know the pain and trauma and wanted to commit suicide but some how i came out of it and mustering courage to ...become strong ...srimadhavi 6/22/2008 10:51:16 PM

I currently work in a very hostile environment. Many have left after being cussed,and treated cruelly. I have confronted the Administrator about it. She literally called me an ass kisser and has told me if I don't like it here I can quit. It's up to me how long I can take it. As an RN I must say this is the first time in a 27 year career I have felt so helpless. ...Maggie White 8/10/2008 12:30:27 PM

I understand how you may be feeling. I found help in reading about workplace bullies. There are several books out there and I'll be happy to give you the titles and author names so you can begin helping yourself through this. There are many people who suffer at the hand of a workplace bully and the bully tacyics are becoming known. They are exposed and hopefully soon, a law will protect people from being bullied at work. Please feel free to e-mail me, and stay in touch. It's important you know you are precious, honored and loved. ...Miriam 8/13/2008 1:03:03 PM

Maggie- as an RN as well, I was told the same thing in 1971--it took 3000 miles and 30 years before I quit! ...vicky 9/6/2008 1:23:12 PM

How do Bullies perceive themselves? My Bully turns things around so it is not her fault and cries, management believes her and she carry's on. We complain and they don't believe us now what can we do? She has gotten rid of 1 person and is now on me. ...Judi Mowat 9/28/2008 10:16:34 AM

Can we do a collaborative study together. I Lecture at a University in Nigeria ...Ojedokun Oluyinka 10/4/2008 2:14:14 PM

Why is workplace bullying and mobbing ignored in the US and California. Most of the literature I read on it seems to be in the rest of the world. It is a very big problem in the US. When will it be recognized here. ...Sandra Freeman 10/13/2008 9:35:49 PM

I need some excellent resources to allow me to maintain a healthy detachment until such time as I can find a better job. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Please email me if you've found anything that works at wunderwriter@pacbell.net. ...Laura Gomes 10/17/2008 2:00:53 AM

I am being bullied by my bosses wife. She has come into the business from another type of business. She is micromanaging the entire office. I have become her target and it is unbearable. She is answering my phone in my office and not giving me my messages. She takes all my faxes and does not give them to me. I have since ask my contacts to fax my home and then I receive them when I get home. She is making it so bad I am unable to sleep. I hate the thought of going to the office. How do you tell your boss his wife is nuts? ...debbie 10/26/2008 1:25:03 PM

I would like to remain anonymous, but have to express some recent events that occurred within a company I worked for that has recently shut down its doors, Sarah Coventry. Part of the reason the company did not survive was due to the poor decisions our President/CEO made. Our boss was a very hardworking and driven woman, yet her way of succeeding has been to bully everyone from consultants to vendors. She would publicly humiliate people, choose favorites based on appearance, and cheated during awarding incentives. If she personally didn't like you, she would drive you away. Even if you were a top performing consultant. Sadly, our company is no longer, but thankfully there are numerous other direct selling companies out there to work for, where we won't be bullying into selling. ...Anonymous 11/8/2008 8:28:00 PM

My bully is a highly trained former supervisor from his previous employer. He is the highest skilled workplace politician I have ever met. He has already had me nearly fired once and is claiming that he "will take care of me when the time is right" I have a disability and I am certain he is organizing harassment against me. I think some of the harassment is illegal. I have thought of talking to human resources about it but I think they will side with the bully. Can anyone help me ? ...trev c. 12/6/2008 4:22:01 PM

I was bullied at work for over 15 mo I am a sickly 60 year old It eventually turned out to be most of the people in the office except for the person I worked closest with my receptionist. Months after I was fired I had a long talk with her and she told me the office rumor was the Ex Director was having an affair with my work partner and since I know he is old enough to be her father and he is a married man I would have vigorously objected the rest of the office thought it was cute So I was bullied for 15 mo and then "fired" Cute what kind of a world do we live in ...Linda 12/9/2008 9:58:31 AM

Trev, I'm no great expert, but will pass on $0.02 worth. If you are the subject of illegal harrassment, please keep in mind that HR's function is to protect the company, NOT you. Get a lawyer and find out where you stand and where you should go and get it documented. In the US they will be more careful (or, subtle) with harrassment based on someone's Title VII protected class (google it); sex, race, religion, but also whistle-blowers. If you like your job, get into a protected class or become a whistle blower, and make it clear to management your status. Then if they fail to stop it, knowing your status, they may be the hook. The Americians with Disabilities Act may also help. By your description of the bully, I would get legal advice on how to prepare the groundwork for a future suit. Then document, document document, until they fire me, or I go out on stress disability. Then they will have to deal with the law. I've seen advice on bringing tort suits for emotional distress on individual bullies in state court as an additional option. The way I see it, bullying will not stop until business suffers documented losses. ...John 12/19/2008 4:18:58 PM

I have dealt with an incompetant coworker for 2 years. I have went up the chain of command and the inferior unsafe workmanship and lying continues by my supervisor. I have now been laid off and on that day a note was put on my vehicle "game over you loose xxoo". The only people who had knowledge of the layoff would have been management. Is there any recourse? I dont anticipate finding work anytime soon with the economy situation and unemployeement is 1/2 of what I was making. ...Dave 1/10/2009 10:04:45 AM

I was the victim of a sociopath/bully who happened to be the president of a community college. Eventually, I became the victim of the "mob" who, knowing how vicious this president was, wanted to stay on his "good" side. To give you just one example (of hundreds) of this man's cruelty: the week that I had been told that I had breast cancer, he came into my office and told me that I had to find another job. I was terrified as this was before Clinton signed the law requiring that health ins. be transferable, and I was in a new state where I had no support system, no family and no old friends. I eventually developed PTSD. By the way, he is a white, male, Republican who goes to church as part of his (dis)guise. Before he left for Florida and the presidency of another college, he told people in the community that I was a lesbian....the ultimate slander. Fortunately, I am not homophobic and am quite sympathetic to the gay movement. So he did not harm me, but he did skew some acquaintances' perception of me. The friend who told me about the president's slander was the editor of the local newspaper which was owned by Knight-Ridder. He was a very credible source. Needless to say, the college was/is an extremely dysfunctional and poisonous organization. Almost all of the good people suffered. ...CB Land 1/10/2009 9:51:32 PM

If bullying didn't kill you by now, it will surely make you stronger! ...Paul 1/15/2009 9:14:50 PM

I have my work is constantly being altered on the webservers and on my local machine. My immediate boss is unable to figure out how it is happening. 2 years+ Anywork I do that is especially innovative is immediately broken on both the website and my machine. What steps can I take to identify the how it is happening? Quitting is not an option. I make good money and am rewarded. With the expception of the bullying of my work. It's a job. I need rational advice. ...Cheri Schappaugh 1/22/2009 2:54:50 PM

This article was very informative for me...I believe I am the victim of a work place bully. I work in a public school teaching students with special needs. One of the specialists I work with has been bullying me since I began over a year ago. She has tenure, I do not. I have my master's degree, and have been teaching for 10 years. The teacher I replaced I am told by veteran teachers, also was bullied by her..he was a tenured teacher that literally walked out of class one day not to return. He had a mentall break down. I love my job, and all of the other teachers I work with. It is to the point that the bully is now making negative remarks about my program and my abilities to other teachers, as they come and tell me.Ideas I implemented last year were critized by the bully, and being new, I changed them according to her recommendations. Now this year, she wants to "step back" and her ideas for changes now are the simple principlas I presented last year. She is cold to me, doesn't make eye contact, and sends me 3 page emails that critique me..and she is a peer, not a supervisor! She has a "mob" also at the school, and when I take a personal day, and develop a plan of support from the other sped room to help my staff if needed...I come back to find that something "went" wrong, and it then looks like I failed to leave an adequate plan in my absence. I have no personal dislike for this person, and I am always pleasant..but the sabatoge continues to escalate. I am a single mother raising 2 children, I have no family in the area, and few that I can trust. I am up for review this year, a fear that I won't get tenure because of her. My principle says she supports me..yet no one in administration has taken the iniative to tell her to stop! It is affecting my appetite, I find I come home and need to have a few drinks to unwind, and I am beginning to have loss of sleep and nightmares about her. She even last year sent me a 3 page email of "concerns' she had about my performance, and didn't CC the director...but was sneaky and printed off a seperate copy and gave it to the director. Next thing I know I am in a meeting with my director last Feb. and she is concerned that I am "detached" from my program...a word that was used by the bully! I don't know what to do! She has run one teacher out, and if I don't get renewed because of her, I have to worry about moving my kids, and trying to find another job. Please help! ...Shari Scullion 1/25/2009 10:15:47 AM

Bill Status of HB0374 96th General Assembly
Short Description: ABUSIVE WORK ENVIRNMNT PREVENT House Sponsors Rep. Arthur L. Turner and Lou Lang Hearings Labor Committee Hearing Feb 19 2009 2:00PM Capitol Building Room 118 Springfield, IL
Last Action Date Chamber Action 2/9/2009 House Assigned to Labor Committee Statutes Amended In Order of Appearance New Act Synopsis As Introduced Creates the Abusive Work Environment Act.

Finds that the well-being of the State relies upon healthy employees free of abusive work environments. Defines "abusive conduct" as conduct of an employer or employee in the workplace, with malice, that a reasonable person would find hostile, offensive, and unrelated to an employer's legitimate business interests; and "abusive work environment" as a workplace where an employee is subjected to abusive conduct so severe that it causes physical or psychological harm to the employee. Provides that it is an unlawful to subject an employee to an abusive work environment or to retaliate against an employee who acted pursuant to the Act or filed an action or participated in any proceeding under the Act. Provides that an employer is liable for an abusive work environment under its control. Provides that it is an affirmative defense to an abusive work environment action: if the employer exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct abusive conduct and the employee failed to take advantage of those opportunities; or, if the filed action is based upon a negative employment decision that is consistent with the employer's legitimate interests. Provides that a defendant who engaged in abusive conduct or who maintained an unlawful abusive work environment may be enjoined and an order may provide other relief including reinstatement, removal of the offending party from the work environment, lost wages, medical expenses, emotional distress damages, punitive damages, and attorney's fees. Provides that if an employer maintained an abusive work environment that did not result in a negative employment decision, the employer's liability for damages for emotional distress may not exceed $25,000 and no punitive damages may be awarded. Provides that the Act is enforceable by a civil action filed by an injured employee. Provides that an action may be filed no later than one year after the last act that comprises the unlawful actions. Provides that no provision of the Act shall exempt any person from any liability, duty, or penalty provided by State law or rule. Provides that the Act's remedies are in addition to workers' compensation remedies. Actions Date Chamber Action 1/29/2009 House Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Arthur L. Turner 1/30/2009 House First Reading 1/30/2009 House Referred to Rules Committee 2/4/2009 House Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Lou Lang 2/9/2009 House Assigned to Labor Committee

I'm currently a victim of mobbing at the workplace and am just waiting for the day that I'll get fired from this big corporation. For the last 4 years, my work product is in question, but I kept on complying by taking training and meeting my work deadlines etc. Everything that I try to do to improve my work, this evil boss just crushed it, and management always side with him. All the sypmptoms of this abusive behavior as described here, I've experienced under this evil boss in 4 years. I always dread going to work knowing that I'll see this two-headed snake. But I have a daughter to raise and a family to take care of. I do believe that my boss has his own insecurities because his wife, who used to be my friend told me of his cocaine addiction and drinking stupor at company parties in the past. FYI, this bully boss dropped his pants at a company holiday party. I have a feeling that he is still an addict given his grandiose attitude and that he skipped rehab before. I hope someday we'll get the much needed help through legislation and pray that these bullies at the workplace immediately disappear from the face of this earth. Better yet, burn alive in hell. I'm currently suffering from severe depression and emotional distress, which are worse than physical abuses. But I have a daughter to take care of and I have no time to grieve for this. ...ailen serdan 2/21/2009 3:21:35 PM