June 2017 Bar Bulletin
By Karen Sutherland
Bullying is a classic example of behavior that is not civil. But is there a civil remedy for it? Like many legal issues, it depends.
Bullying at Work
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (“L&I”) considers workplace bullying to be a “serious health and safety issue.”1 L&I describes workplace bullying as follows:
• Workplace bullying is a pattern of behavior that harms, intimidates, undermines, offends, degrades or humiliates an employee, possibly in front of other employees, clients or customers. It is a serious health and safety issue. The targets of bullying may suffer from physical and mental health problems...