In the past five years, advocates in states across the United States have been pushing for workplace antibullying legislation, modeled after the Healthy Workplace Bill (HWB). 1 From 20031 From through 2008, 13 , 13 states have proposed some form of workplace antibullying legislation that would make it an unlawful employment practice to subject an employee to an abusive work environment. Employers would be held vicariously liable for violations of the law by their employees. Depending on the circumstances, remedies could include reinstatement, removal of the offending employee, lost wages, emotional-distress damages, and punitive damages.
Opponents of workplace antibullying laws fear such legislation will open the floodgates and increase employment litigation, generating additional costs for employers in an already fragile economy. Proponents of workplace antibullying laws, on the other hand, generally argue that the high costs of employee turnover and the decreased productivity when bullying on the job persists make these laws worthwhile.
Although no state has passed legislation yet, employers and counsel should understand what the laws, if enacted in their states, provide. Lawmakers continue to pursue the passage of workplace antibullying legislation, and enactment may be just around the corner in some jurisdictions.