"Status-blind harassment"—more commonly known as workplace bullying—is a growing concern to employers and their employment practices liability insurers. But while the costs of having bullies in the workplace are clear, appropriate steps to recognize and rein in the problem aren't always obvious.
Experts use the term "status-blind" or "equal-opportunity harassment" to distinguish workplace bullying from harassment targeted at classes of workers protected under federal and state statutes.
"It's the boss who abuses his or her power not because someone is a woman over the age of 40 or Hispanic, but rather because the boss wants to bully and is a bully—and anyone who gets in the way is going to be a victim of that bullying, says Gerald Maatman Jr., a partner of Seyfarth Shaw in Chicago.
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