California Passes Law to Prevent Workplace Bullying

September 29, 2014 by Andrew Baker

Governor Brown on September 9 signed into law California’s first bill aimed at preventing workplace bullying. Assembly Bill 2053 (Gonzalez) will help prevent category-neutral harassment in the workplace by requiring employers to educate managers on “abusive conduct.” Under existing law, employers with 50 or more employees must give at least two hours of training on sexual harassment to all supervisors at least once every two years. Under A.B. 2053, employers must now include a component on the prevention of “abusive conduct” — regardless of whether that conduct is gender-based or not- – in these supervisor trainings.

Under A.B. 2053, “abusive conduct” is conduct of an employer or employee in the workplace, with malice, that a reasonable person would find hostile, offensive, and unrelated to an employer’s legitimate business interests. Notably, “abusive conduct” is not limited to conduct that targets employees because of race, gender, religion, etc. By statute, this may include:

• the repeated infliction of verbal abuse, such as the use of derogatory remarks, insults, and epithets,
• verbal or physical conduct that a reasonable person would find threatening, intimidating or humiliating, and
• the gratuitous sabotage or undermining of a person’s work performance.

Bullying is a substantial problem in workplaces across the United States. In a 2014 survey, 27% of American workers reported experiencing some form of bullying by managers or coworkers and another 21% reported having witnessed the bullying of a coworker. Abusive work environments can reduce productivity and morale, lead to higher absenteeism and turnover rates, and increase medical and workers’ compensation claims. Under current law, victims of workplace bullying have a legal remedy only if the abuse is related to a protected category (such as race, gender, disability, sexual orientation or age).

A.B. 2053 is codified at California Government Code § 12950.1 and will take effect January 1, 2015. Employers who fail to comply with the new law may face penalties from the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the state agency charged with enforcing California’s discrimination and harassment laws. The law does not, however, create a civil claim for abusive conduct itself.

While victims of category-neutral workplace abuse still have no recognized basis for legal action, A.B. 2053 is an important first step toward ending workplace bullying. Labor unions have been strong advocates of anti-bullying initiatives across the country and the Teamsters sponsored this landmark legislation.

 

 

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