The workplace – Anti-bullying legislation pending

By Hayley Graham, The Daily Journal

Workplace bullying has been getting increased recognition as a serious abuse issue, and advocates are pushing for laws to protect employees and to prevent it.

Anti-bullying legislation, supported by the Workplace Bullying Institute, is pending in Illinois — as well as 15 other states.

The bill, which would create the Abusive Work Environment Act, was introduced at the first of the year, but died on the House floor on April 3 when it was sent to the Rules Committee for review.

The act would protect public employees seeking redress from health-harming workplace abuse. It also would protect employers who try to prevent or correct an abusive work environment.

Because the act was amended to exclude private employers, another bill was introduced in March to form a task force on workplace bullying that would study the issue and its impact in the private sector.

The bill was drafted by Jonathan Lackland, executive director of Illinois Association of Minorities in Government, an advocacy group for government workers. The organization has seen an increase in bullying among its members, he said.

Many of the abuse problems in Illinois state government jobs stem from the pay-to-play practices of the Rod Blagojevich administration, he said.

“Unfortunately, it was very easy to get rid of an employee so you could move someone you wanted into the spot,” he said.

Business advocates oppose legislation

Jay Shattuck, executive director of Employment Law Council with the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, said the bill, if passed, would be another mark against the state’s business climate.

“Our concern is that when you have a favorable climate for plaintiffs, cases that would be marginal at best continue to be sued and defense costs, especially for small businesses, can be devastating,” he said. “Illinois already has the reputation of being the ‘judicial
hell hole’ of the country.”

Dana Connell, shareholder of Chicago-based Littler Mendelson, the nation’s largest employment firm representing management, said it could get in the way of supervisors being able to do their jobs.

“The statute could be misused by poor performers to deflect legitimate criticism of their work,” he said.

Yet Connell and Shattuck recognize that steps need to be taken to prevent bullying.

The council supports the resolution to study the issue and later develop employer education and anti-bullying policies.

“Instead of using the stick approach, let’s try to provide incentives that help mitigate the issue where it occurs, but at the same time does not punish the business climate,” Shattuck said.

A number of these disputes can be handled with an apology, said Lamont Stallworth, professor at Institute of Human Resources and Employment Relations in Loyola University’s Graduate School of Business.

Employers, he said, would be more likely to support legislation on the issue by approaching it as promoting workplace civility, inclusion, alternative dispute resolution and conflict management. Stallworth has been studying the issue of workplace bullying with co-worker Professor Suzy Fox for the last eight years.

“If employers were to make conflict management and alternative dispute resolution programs ‘early on,’ so many of these costly disputes could be resolved without litigation,” said Stallworth, who is also chair and founder of the nonprofit Center for Employment Dispute Resolution.

While he views any legislation that brings civility to the workplace as positive, he said it should provide workers the opportunity to resolve the conflict with a neutral mediator, and if it can’t be then be free to pursue litigation.

“It should provide a “safe harbor” in which both employer and worker might be able to work out these disputes with offer of apology or expression of regret or remorse,” he said.

What’s next?

Healthy Workplace Citizen Lobby Day at the Illinois State Capitol to promote the Abusive Work Environment Act and Taskforce on Workplace Bullying on April 22. For more information, visit illinoishwa.org.

Victim becomes advocate

Carrie Clark, Illinois coordinator for the Workplace Bullying Institute, became an advocate after being driven from the job she loved as a high school English teacher due to bullying from a corrupt school superintendent.

After discovering he was improperly using funds, the superintendent began stalking her, and reprimanding her for talking to the media, and not allowing her to go to meetings, among other things.

She suffered post traumatic stress disorder and developed a neurological problem similar to turrets syndrome from the ordeal.

“This sort of abuse has the potential to exist in every school district in the country,” said Clark, who declined to give the name of the school district where this occurred.

Clark said critics are shortsighted in saying an anti-bullying statute would create a flood of lawsuits.

“People are getting horribly hurt,” she said. “There was a time when spousal and child abuse were OK and sexual harassment — workplace abuse is still OK.”