Liability for Workplace Bullies?
The 2008 Florida Legislature enacted Ch. 2008-123, the "Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act" which directs all school boards in Florida to develop and adopt policies to prohibit "bullying or harassment" of students or employees. Does this law create an exception to the "exclusive remedy" provision for employees of a school board if the board fails to take sufficient steps to prevent bullying? I admit I don't know, but this started me wondering whether laws specifically prohibiting "bullying" in the workplace in general could be far behind.
As it turns out, there have already been attempts around the country to enact such legislation. See this list compiled by the Workplace Bullying Institute. These bills would explicitly create a private, non-workers' compensation cause of action in favor of an employee against an employer for allowing an "abusive work environment" to exist. So far, no state has enacted legislation like this, but efforts are continuing.
