Is Bullying at Work Legal?
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- Опубликовано: 1 июн 2024
- This video examines the lawfulness of bullying at work, what you should do about it, and how much money these cases are worth.
Branigan Robertson is an employment lawyer in California. His firm exclusively represents employees in lawsuits against their employers. Visit his website at: brobertsonlaw.com
Links to Related Videos:
Why Human Resources Sucks - • Human Resources Sucks ...
Complain to HR Correctly - • Complain to Human Reso...
How HR Cheats Employees - • How HR Cheats Employees
Hostile Work Environment - • Hostile Work Environment
Toxic Work Environment - • Toxic Work Environment
How to Get a $1,000,000+ Settlement - • How to Get a $1,000,00...
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:12 - Overview of the Four Factors
01:33 - Factor 1 - Supervisor or Co-Worker
02:14 - Factor 2 - Severe or Pervasive
03:01 - Factor 3 - Victim Must Consider it Abusive
03:53 - Factor 4 - Protected Characteristic or Activity
06:38 - Branigan's Contact Information
07:16 - What Should You Do About Bullying at Work?
10:00 - The Settlement Value of Bullying Cases
11:42 - Conclusion
Please subscribe to Branigan's channel!
#bullying #harassment #employmentlawyer
I wrote a letter to the bully requesting that she treat me as fairly as she treated other coworkers. Then, I gave this letter to our boss, asking him to read it. I also asked him to pass the letter to the bully if he thought it was appropriate. This way, the boss could witness and monitor what was going on. She had been upset for a week, but eventually, she and I became good friends. When you get bullied at work, you must fight for yourself. Usually, managers, police, or lawyers can not help the minor bullies. These days, I use email and I don't involve bosses. My letter-writing method is always working because I write in a way that looks embarrassing for the bullies to show anybody else.
Can you help me?🙏🏻
@@tamitruong2907 What happened? Have you been bullied?
The irony is middle classes spend all their monies in sending their kids to universities only to endup in this mess
....so you only get bullied if you went to university?
In nursing, if you report any type of bullying you went through by coworker or manager the company will find/create a reason to terminate you.
FACTS
The struggle..
Because there are no legal protections for people as a general rule. Unless you are in a protected class.
This video is helpful.
What got my attention is when I was constantly getting yelled at by a supervisor. The supervisor encouraged me to scream back at him then later down the line used that as a excuse to get me in trouble with abuse.
That's what they do. They set you up to make your story look unbelievable. Thats why when anyone makes me feel uncomfortable regardless how nice they act after I report it right away.
Unfortunately my company didn’t have an HR when they bullied me relentlessly about my health, physically attacked me, sexually harassed me, supervisor went as far as to lick my door. Called me a b-h. Adding to my job other departments work to constructively fire me I guess, I’ve had things thrown at me. They’ve padded peoples files meanwhile the supervisors are the aggressors. Three of my colleagues had a whole brawl on floor because they incorrectly fired a guy because he was vocal about how abusive they are, treating people like slaves. Ive had other general employees threaten me with bodily harm made them aware nothing would be done. They’d try to force me to interact with these people. Ive made them really aware to leave me alone. I’m trying to be as professional as I can be because I feel like no one should feel unsafe at their work and I shouldn’t be fighting neither should anyone else really. Then they’re a bunch of grown men doing this. Like I said we didn’t have HR it was more of me just telling them leave me alone to no avail. Now there’s an HR and they’re all the sudden acting like stand up citizens, but can I still complain? I’m leaving after this month anyway, but still.
You should look into reporting to the state/EEOC
I love your videos as they are super informative but the reality about the injustice that occurs in the workplace is guarded by the law is hard to digest.
Agreed.
@@braniganrobertsonlaw I'm going through it now they investigating now..the supervisor trying get me fired cause I reported him to h.r last..now they trying to fire me without cause...
@@braniganrobertsonlaw I'm in Arizona do you have consultants law # in Arizona..?
@@braniganrobertsonlaw my friend they just fired me today please help i have undeniable evidence 🙏
Thanks for these Videos they are great. They sure go into a lot of depth. Yes if people showed respect on the job we would have an easier time of it on the job.
I just started a job 30 day's ago. The negative attitude and responses when i need and have to communicate with this coworker started on day 2 and has gotten worse. i informed my supervisor and she said she knows how bad she can be and brushed it off. she did say however that she documented it. I confronted the co-worker and told her to please give me the same respect I give her when I talk to her or ask her a question pertaining to work and her response was 'I wouldn't count on it' and my other co-worker was standing there to witness. I am aged 50 and female the other co-worker is 21 year old female and not really sure if it's storming from anything in particular but she did make a comment about my generation not knowing about computers when I was trying to learn something on the computer.
I really love my new job and my department but feel like I'm walking on eggshells everyday around this person
First, you can complain to management. I did so, stating that a particular manager rather abrasive towards me and things got worse. I complained to her boss and he told me I told her to do so and if I do not like it you can leave. Although you stated the type of situations that are unlawful, I do not understand how being treated unfairly is not bullying, I do not know anything about the law. A bully is a bully.
Nah it is not bullying otherwise every one can claim stupid things. There needs to be a concrete law otherwise law becomes so muddy that it will not help victims if everyone files a case because they feel unfair.
Actually being treated unfairly is not bullying.
Good luck proving it. And the energy it takes....
I still have ptsd from bullying that occured 2016 thru 2020. And yes a manager took part and it was from co workers.
I have ptsd for so many years because of work
Legalized bullying, welcome to the American workplace!
Its the case all over the world not only america.
It happens everywhere. Don’t be like that.
I’m not being bullied. But I have a co-worker who has been accused of being a bully by several other co-workers. 3 people have even quit because of her. Apparently, she bullies by complaining about every single thing that a person does then management gets involved in order to shut her up. But here’s the problem: when she complains about everyone in the group, every one in the group gets a verbal warning but when everyone in the group complains about what she’s doing wrong then the manager behaves like the group is ganging up on her and then everyone in the group gets a warning for that. To the group that feels like bullying. Also she’s extremely loud and persistent whereas the others are not. We work in a lab and in general the workers are pretty introverted and very caught off guard by aggressive persistent behavior and they seem to be easily intimidated. I personally feel that their emotional problems should be a protected category. In fact, the ones who quit were on various medications for depression and anxiety and gastrointestinal issues (which can require mood stabilizing medications). Those in the group who are emotionally stronger just aren’t that bothered by her. For example, I just ignore her, I don’t speak to her, and I turn her in for everything that she does to me. And, if she accuses me of anything I demand that my supervisor arranges a meeting between the 3 of us or I refuse the reprimand. I told my supervisor that accusations against me have to be done to my face. She use to try to brother me but as a result of my tactics, she leaves me alone.
I have a coworker like that. She aggressively complains about the most minor thing like someone replying to her messages when she has several times taken up to to half a day to respond. People are usually extremely busy at work or in meetings so it is unreasonable to have to reply in under 1 hr. She starts building a case against people using stuff like this and when people try to explain the shit she’s brewing up and how she doesn’t live anywhere up to the standards she’s forcing on others it’s considered some sort of retaliation
"Those in the group who are emotionally stronger just aren’t that bothered by her. " thats also part of the problem in society to label a victim as weak(er). You just dont know what someone's personal history is that makes them more prone to anxiety. To view someone as 'weak' also further fuels the agressiveness that drives the bully
@@DippmipSome people ARE weak though. To believe otherwise is childish.
@@nicwelch it's the belief that someone is weaker is childish. You simply dont have the wisdom to understand
Psychological harassment won't be as simple to spot as jokes or yelling.
Wow! Glad that I found your channel! Subscribed!
I held a position for 12 yrs. Constant workplace drama, manager sleeping w/ boss and several other men. She would fist punch me for no provoked reason and never disciplined. GM even placed a SNAKE in my car. I was bullied daily. I had to raise my child. My second job I held for 7 yrs & recently walked away. Mobbing,work sabotaged, verbally abused, worked w/ employees hungover or under the influence. Stoled my ideas and others given credit. Boss(es) defended coworkers. Lead had narcissistic behaviors and I was their target. I loved my job duties at both jobs, even my customers were great! Coworkers are the worst! I never want to work with coworkers again. Anyone hiring for a solo position 😊?
Thanks again for all you do for the update
California Law 🇺🇸
Brannigan, you're a star! Fantastic channel!
Very informative, thank you
I understand that unless someone is in a protected class status they have no protection from a legal standpoint. But, workplace bullying absolutely should be illegal imo, as regardless of status, no one should have to endure being abused and damaged at work.
I'm a small business employer and find these videos educational. thx
Mahalo for this!
I don't agree. Bullying causes emotional distress and can retard someone ability to do their job and in turn hinder the person and cause them to quit or get fired. You are right that people need to know the difference between bullying and being treated unfairly. Why? To create their argument. It is all about how you angle the situation. What if I tell you that bullying a few people or one person is highly correlated with discrimination. If the person is not bullying everyone and only picking on one or a few, then that is def the case and often times that is the case. If you understand psychology and know your legal terms you can win any case with a non-discriminatory judge or jury. You can even use duress in the case of a bullied victim. They act or react because of negative influence that was put on them by the manager. My manager were quite afraid of me because they knew I am well versed with my words and thoughts. One time they tried to pull me in a situation because I was a witness and I told them I was not there mentally. They could not go any further with me because if I was dazed out, what do you want me to do?
Labor Union COMMUNICATION WORKERS OF AMERICA in NJ gets tons of griviencies from members that are employed by a major telecommunications company
One area in workplace bullying you didn't cover is what to do when it is a customer that is threating or bullying an employee. I have worked in retail all my life and there have been dozens of times I have been threatened with physical violence, including being threatened with a gun. More times than not, a manager would witness this occur and act like nothing happened. Is there any recourse for me, or am I out of luck just because I am just a replaceable employee? Is "the customer is always right" the prevailing rule, even against my right to not be intimidated publicly?
Thank you
Word knowledge is awesome ❤
So what happens when you get treated badly by a manager who was told on multiple times that they would handle it they are still working there breaking many rules like stealing from the company and got caught smoking pot . And always sabotage your work environment
Holy crap. This is a weirdly specific question. Are you asking for a friend?
Think that's called, "This mess is bigger than me." Plus, you're obviously getting the run-around.
Get a new job, friend.
Have you watched any of his other videos? Like, the HR ones? Basically, they're giving you the run-around cuz there's what they think is in the best interest of the business... And your complaints are not it.
Get a new job. Nobody is forcing you to work there.
No, I did get my unemployment benefits. That states I was available for work. My doctor put me on medical leave. And when it ended and I called I was not put back on the schedule. They said they would call me and they did not. The manager said I quit. They say I still worked there. They never ask for fit for duty. My doctor put me on light duty which was not respected and I pulled a muscle in my neck. They bullied me to work with the rotator cuff tear and a strained neck. I see a therapist. I had so much stress
I waited for them to call and they never did. I am union. They sent the leave papers after my return date for medical leave. And the deal with my lawyer. She filed a false work comp claim in 2018. I didn't find out I had a rotator cuff tear until 2019. I kept asking her about the date. She tells me don't worry about it. She was working against me. This is why I filed a complaint. There is more. They can't get their lie straight.
Usps?
In a way I do. I have something that says I did not come back from medical leave and not to rehire. I did call because I talked to my supervisor to be put on the schedule and was not.
So the company knows about it and is refusing to anything about and just threatened to fire the complainant if these issues come up again in hr
The shareholders are not bothered what happens to the employees so long as numbers profits are done
from shareholders perspective employees are liability and should be cut
Oh yes, all of those evil greedy corporations. You’ve never owned your own business have you?
I knew a guy who worked at a government agency with a terrible boss who one day ordered his staff to cut off a computer service they provided to another agency for spite.
This one guy pointed out why that was a terrible idea and pleaded with the boss to reverse his order, but he got chewed out for his troubles.
So, they cut off the service, then the other agency complained to the head of this guy's agency, who summoned the boss to explain what happened. But instead of admitting what he'd done, the boss blamed the one guy who'd tried to prevent him from doing it.
The boss disappeared for a while after that, then when the guy confronted him, the boss threatened his life, which wasn't the first or last time…and did I mention the boss was a total loose-cannon gun nut with a criminal past?
Anyway, that was decades ago, and that terrible boss has since passed away. And so it goes…
Under Bostock v. Clayton County, federal law dictates that sex includes sexual orientation and gender identity protections.
This helps a lot because I’ve been harassed and complained often. Management gets upset and says I’m causing a Toxic Environment. How so. I’m the victim as I told them
Mr. Robertson, do you trust the DIR/DLSE as much as you trust HR? Do You have a video on the Labor Commissioner and how they might help you, if they want to or have the time?
I have a group of mean girls who bully and harass. One of they told our whole training group “ snitches get stitches” and she has said this more than once. Should I go to HR? After watching you HR video, I’m feeling scared
This group of mean girls also verbally harassed a lady for defending herself and they again made comments of physical violence, that one mean girl told another mean girl to stop being verbally abusive.
What should I do? This mean girls group is diving our training team.
I work as a county social worker and it’s scary these mean girls will have families with heavy abuse and trauma under them. If these mean girls bully professional co workers what could they do to families in the child protection system??
My company encourages expert techs(which is my classification) to help new hires with work or questions they may have. I recently helped one of these new hires(a woman I have known for 5 years). After I helped her she received 2 calls, one from a co-worker and one from her trainer. Both told her to not call me with questions because I was a bad employee. I talked to 2 supervisors and both agreed that was wrong and the co-workers involved were talked too. Should I do more? After I helped her I also got a call from the acting lead man to vacate the area claiming to many workers were in the area, even though I had left her location and was sitting a few blocks away doing work, just in case she had more questions.
But bullying and harassment starts with being non threatening and ''within legal limits'' untill it gets out of proportion! What do you say now?
So if your teamleader uses their title to force you to document something that could cause an E&O claim would possibly be bullying?
Mr. Robertson, I have a question for you: I reported a blood contamination to my supervisor, and she retaliated agaisnt me because of that. Should I report to OSHA? What is the OSHA report time limit? Or should I report it to EEOC and both OSHA? Thanks!
Both, especially if you're working for Usps.
Please help me they won’t stop electronic surveillance at mg home , hacking into my home pc and stealing money. They tried to kill me . Please take my case
This is good advice. We know that bullying someone is rude. Calling someone that over the age of 50 a "dinosaur" or an "old fart", is rude. Now I hear that if someone makes a racial discriminatory move, they can go to jail. Keeping an ear out for bad jokes is pretty tricky because although making fun of others is rude, but there are times when the joke can really get someone in trouble. If the management says something discriminatory, for sure that manager wants you to keep it a secret so they can continue on with their nonsense. One thing I like about what you are showing to us. That is if management of a place such as a restaurant or a store, or even a hospital or hotel, that restaurant, store, hospital, or hotel would loose business and would be forced to close.
What if it’s severe but not protected?
@Branigan if you see this, Q about this protected activity: "Complain about something that was unsafe." I assume this means physically unsafe as opposed to emotionally unsafe things?
Yes, like a hazard of some sort. Emotional safety is hard to prove and is largely subjective. The abuse must be overall objectively severe and intense.
What about if you are accused of not liking someone (incorrectly) because of their skin color yet YOU are the minority? I was accused of not liking a coworker because she was black. I am Caucasian and one of the few Caucasian’s working there. Most of the staff at my work were black. I complained about a nurse (who was black) because she was going out of her way to yell at me because I didn’t do something to her standards. My nurse was also a witness to these interactions so she was a witness (I work in healthcare). She was talked to by a manager but then started telling fellow coworkers that I just didn’t like her because she was black. I ended up quitting because of her and other things that went on, but now I’m wondering if I had a case for harassment/workplace bullying. Of course I should have documented dates/times this happened but honestly I was just glad to be gone from there. But I’m going to watch more of your videos so I know what steps I need to take if it ever happens again. I’m in Texas and just moved here from Montana, and I know I will be working with more people who are black in the future. I’m not racist but this was an eye-opening experience that I hope to never go through again!
You probably didn’t like her. And I say this because you are withholding information to look like the victim.
Do I have to disclose I am autistic to an employer? I am 46 and I got diagnosed last year during Covid lock down. Still sorting it out.
Mine was spread over and over
Absolutely not. In reality, it appears to be endorsed by management, especially if you're not in their favor. Reporting them achieves nothing and, instead, makes you a target for more harassment. If you take legal action with undeniable proof, you'll find yourself blacklisted in your state. It's an unspoken truth, but it happens.
What is if HR is bullying you?
That is very common. Some HR reps love to do this. My recommendation would be to go above them with your complaint.
@@braniganrobertsonlaw it doesn't work the higher you up the pyramid the more rotten apples is what you discover
Would it be called severe if their action prevents you from doing your job and you can prove clear discrimination?
Are any more at home like you? Everything you are talking about is what I am going through. I got all documentation to prove it. I had to file a complaint against my lawyer because she filed a false workman's
compensation claim. She was working with the defendant. I am waiting to hear from the bar counsel. I am 60yrs old and was fired because I filed a work claim. They are trying to say I quit. I worked there for 5yrs.
Do you have an email or documentation of them terminating you?
Getting Fired For Complaining to H.R is ILLEGAL, because it is a protected activity. UNFORTUNATELY he DIDN'T make that clear in this Video.
And so is demotion.
Yes but you have to be able to prove it.
Your videos are great! I wish you were a Florida lawyer!
Glad you like them!
Agreed!. 😢
My boss and manager asked me to sign a paper that contained things about me that were untrue. The boss is a bully and not competent to lead an engineering group. As a white male, I am not in a protected class. But my female boss is. I resigned the job immediately. I am lost. I am responsible for a baby and being unemployed means the stress is off the charts.
Here is an example my boss said to my coworkers she was tired of me pumping/expressing breast milk so she was going to limit my hours so I would quit. She started complaining when I came back after maternity leave. My baby is 7 months old and she is now saying I need to pump in my car.
Dude.
You're hired.
What if the GM & THE MANAGER that had me targeted & fired unlawfully are not there anymore? The GM RESIGNED & the MANAGER that fired me is no longer there? Do I still have a case.?
People can definitely still bring a case if the harassers/retaliators are no employed at the company. Respondent superior is the legal doctrine that says employers are liable for the actions of managerial employees. It doesn't matter if they are no longer employed. If the bad behavior happened while they were employed, the employer is liable.
@@braniganrobertsonlaw thanks again. I will be in contact soon.
5:30 bullying
I am prosecuting for a felony
Authorities on their way now to arrest , keep doors open
Also I can’t eat out nor even go out, they ar emailing me a prisoner and can’t even leave . My life is destroyed worthless . In prison in my home , this is illegal
I NEED TO ASK for California why does age discrimination only work for those 40+
That’s what the law states! Write a letter to your state senator and ask.
Constructive discharge
I made a video about that. ruclips.net/video/BmODx2LBV1M/видео.html
Is sarcasm considered bullying?
Not all bullying is illegal, but all bullying victims are dorks.
Someone poison me and trying to kill me
Only if you can prove it. And you still lose your job.
But wait, there’s more…
It would be VERY HELPFUL for you to talk about men yelling at women. Is gender enough to say you are targeted? Say you're at a workplace where all the women are targeted.
I think you need to work in Florida. That would bring you more money than California
If you're being bullied at work, please tell these people to grow up and quit on the spot. They are not entitled to your respect.
never have clear examples , only in contexts. He doesn't even give visual examples.
So being a white straight guy I am out of luck.