Abusive Bosses - They Can’t Do That, Can They?

Some of the toughest calls I take are from people working for abusive bosses.  They have suffered through insults to their intelligence, name-calling, conscious efforts by their boss to undermine them, and even having objects thrown around by their bosses.  Unfortunately, most of the time I have to tell them that the law does not have a remedy for them unless their boss singles out his or her victim on the basis of a legally protected characteristic (age, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or having raised issues of other potential legal violations).  There is no legal right to an abuse free workplace, particularly if the supervisor is an “equal opportunity” abuser (that is, they are equally awful to all of their subordinates).

A recent poll from Employment Law Alliance found that 44% of American workers have worked for a supervisor or employer they consider abusive. New Employment Alliance Poll.  The types of behavior identified by the respondents ranged from making a sarcastic remark or teasing remark (60%) to criticizing performance in front of others (59%) to yelling (55%) to personal insults (50%) to spreading rumors (40%) to inappropriate physical contact (17%) to physical threats (11%).    Of those behaviors, only the physical contact and possibly the physical threats might provide grounds for a legal cause of action against the abusive supervisor.

The Boston Business Journal called upon its readers to discuss the results of the Employment Law Alliance polls, and provide examples if they felt they too had worked for an abusive boss. "Battle scars: Readers pour out tales of abusive bosses"  Again, of the behavior listed there by readers only the example of the boss who asked his subordinate out on a date and began treating her negatively after she declined would provide possible grounds for legal action.  A lively discussion on this topic can also be found in the comments to Bob Sutton's post on the Poll at his Work Matters Blog. 

Interestingly, 64% of those surveyed in the Employment Law Alliance poll felt that an employee who has been abused by a supervisor or employer should have a right to sue to recover damages.  Legislation to address that issue was introduced in the Washington state legislature this January, but it appears unlikely it will make it to the floor this session. (Bill history for HB 2142)   

I have observed first hand through my clients the devastating effects some vicious workplace bullying can have on an individual, and I think there needs to be some remedy.  I am not unsympathetic to the HR departments and business owners who worry about the passage of such a bill as proposed this session who argue a bill like this goes too far and simply “legislates niceness.”  Yet, it is clear from the survey, and the avalanche of hits one gets by searching the internet for the phrases “abusive boss” or “workplace bully”, that employers must figure out how to better protect their workforce from the truly malicious (as opposed to merely rude), or legislatures lobbied by victims may start doing it for them.