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One may experience an uncomfortable experience due to bullying at the workplace. This has a negative impact on inter-personal relationship with colleagues and also can considerably reduce employee performance. A happy working environment is something that every employee requires and is entitled to. Employees also have rights and protection and can initiate action to fight workplace bullies. However, ignorance of the law can lead to many questions like the ones answered by Experts below. Q. In a workplace, what is consider as bullying?
The anti-bullying laws that many states have tried to implement, intend to curb the following violations: humiliation caused to an employee intentionally; “silent” treatment meted out by colleagues or supervisors; physically or socially isolating an employee; punishing an employee by assigning work that they do not intend to do; trying to implicate an employee for mistakes that were not committed by him or her; false accusations of bad performance; spreading false rumors; lying on a performance evaluation; accusing baselessly with the intention of having a person removed from a certain project or a position. Q. Consider a situation where one is bullied at work constantly and already has complained to the boss thrice within a week. However, there has been no action taken and the employee’s health and performance have been adversely affected. What legal rights does the employee have to resolve the situation?
If you are faced with such a situation, you can put forth your concerns and issues to the manager in writing and ensure that a copy of the letter is saved for future reference. You may also want to get in touch with an employment lawyer if the situation has not been resolved and continues to persist. Legal action can be taken on the employer since health has been affected as a direct result of bullying at the workplace, which was not addressed even after repeated documented complaints. Q. If a person has been a victim of bullying at work where she was subjected to criticism that was not authentic; was given differential treatment in comparison to others; was micro-managed and physically run into in office hallways. Which anti-bullying law helps in dealing with this situation?
In such a situation, there may be grounds for action to be taken based on the fact that the situation encountered is regarding a hostile work environment. If there is clear discrimination on the basis of race, religion, age, sex, national origin, and disability then the U.S. Supreme Court allows action to be taken. However, the employee would need to prove that the behavior of the employer falls into an actionable category protected by workplace discrimination laws. Rude behavior or bullying by themselves may not be grounds enough to take action. Q. In a situation where one is not finding a witness to come forward so that a complaint can be registered against bullying. What are the options?
Colleagues may want to play safe by not getting caught in what they deem to be a personal problem and may be hesitant to stand as witnesses. It would be prudent to involve the HR department and obtain their assurance that any statement made by a colleague would be treated as “anonymous” and “private” and then ask the colleague to testify to the HR in private. Alternatively, an e-mail could be sent to the bully informing him or her that the bullying tactics that are meted out are a matter of concern. If the bully replies as a measure of retaliation, this could be used as proof. One should not put up with bullies and knowing one’s rights and measures can go a long way in helping you tackle the menace legally. When in doubt, it is always best to ask an employment lawyer before taking a legal action. Just being aware of your rights and legal recourse that may be available to you can help ensure that you work in an environment that is worry-free.
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