Posted on September 28, 2010 by Tiffany Schmidt

Should Workplace Bullying Be Illegal?

Every Sunday, I receive the Parade magazine in my newspaper. It typically has some interesting articles or interviews with celebrities. This summer, it had an interesting article on workplace bullying. Parade magazine did an informal poll on their website asking, “should workplace bullying be illegal?” The results:

Should workplace bullying be illegal?   Yes = 93% and No = 7%

Bullying is not uncommon, whether it is on the playground, in high school or in the workplace. Workplace bullying can cause low morale, increased employee turnover, and decreased productivity, none of which is a positive contribution to the workplace. There is even an employee-advocate group called Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI). WBI defines workplace bullying as “repeated malicious mistreatment, verbal abuse, or conduct that is threatening, humiliating, or intimidating, or that interferes with work.” Workplace bullying is different from harassment and discrimination which is unlawful under state and federal laws, though there can be overlap. General workplace bullying is not covered by harassment or discrimination laws and instead targets someone without regard to their sex, race, national origin, color, religion, etc. Presently, seventeen states have introduced bills which would allow victims to sue for damages resulting from workplace bullying.

In Minnesota, it is possible for employees to seek recovery for workplace bullying under the common law claim of “intentional infliction of emotional distress.”

So, what should an employer do to prevent or address workplace bullying?

1) Implement a general code of conduct policy.
2) Train employees on what is acceptable workplace behavior.
3) Train supervisors to recognize and address bullying when it occurs.

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Posted on September 3, 2010 by Tiffany Schmidt

U.S. Department of Labor Is Making Sure Employees Receive the Correct Compensation

I’ve blogged before about the importance of making sure your employees are being paid properly under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor issued two new press releases announcing investigations resulting in more than $500,000 in back wages being paid to employees. The first, involved the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in Orlando, Florida where 69 employees will receive $433,819 in back wages due to violations of the FLSA. During its investigation the Wage & Hour Division found employees were not being paid correctly for work activities occurring before and after their normal shifts, when they worked through their meal breaks or when they worked from home. The investigation revealed, “while Walt Disney has specific rules regarding off-clock work, . . .managers within the company were not adhering to those important policies.”

The second press release, involved a Minnesota home health care company, Prairie River Home Care Inc. which was found to have violated the FLSA by failing to pay 144 current and former employees time and one-half their regular rates of pay, for all hours worked in excess of a 40 hour week. Under the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act (Minn. Stat. 177.25), employers are required to pay overtime for all hours worked over 48 hours in a week. Prairie River Home Care Inc. was following Minnesota law for overtime compensation. The problem arose because wages and hours of work are covered by both state and federal law. When that is the case, the law with the higher standards must be observed. So, although Prairie River Home Care Inc. was not running afoul of state law, it did run afoul of federal law, resulting in the investigation and penalties.

I’ve said it before and it is worth repeating; it isn’t just important to have a policy addressing overtime issues, it is also important to train employees on the policy, and make sure supervisors are following it. It cost Walt Disney a lot of money, just because supervisors were not following the policies which were in place. Lastly, when both state and federal law are applicable to your business, make sure you are following whichever law, has the standard which is more advantageous to the employee, so you don’t get penalized like Prairie River Home Care.

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