Law Offices of John P. Martin

Often I hear from people that are seeking redress for being treated poorly, or unfairly, by their employer. Sometimes the circumstances are so frustrating and stressful that the maltreated employee is “forced” to quit a job that they enjoy, and/or need to maintain their health and sanity. However, having a mean boss, or jerks for co-workers is not an actionable offense. You have no right to a friendly work environment. Real-life often presents us with difficult people and circumstances to deal with, but rarely do such bad circumstances give rise to an actionable offense recognized by law.

But what if the bad treatment rises to actual “bullying” in the workplace. What about repetitive abusive conduct that interferes with an employee’s ability to perform their job, genuine abusive conduct, or an employer who allows an abusive environment directed towards one or more employees? Unfortunately, unless the employee is being harassed because of their gender, race, or other protected class membership, there is no legal remedy available to the victim of bullying at their place of employment.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that government agencies and legislatures have begun to recognize that workplace bullying is a problem that effects the well-being of many employees, subsequently diminishing the productivity of industry. The Washington State Department of Labor has provided document to help employees and employers alike, recognize, and fight workplace bullying. Here is a link to the document.

However, as stated in the document, there currently is no legal remedy to prevent, or compensate for, workplace bullying. But, help may soon be on the way. In the Washington legislature, House bill HB-2142 , and accompanying Senate bill, SB-6622, have been introduced. If passed into law, they would make workplace bullying unlawful. The House bill was amended to limit its effect only to State Agencies and Departments. Thus, it just protects state workers. The Senate bill still reads as applying to all employers and employees in the State.

We will have to wait and see to how far these bills get - will they make it the Governor’s desk?
Naturally, the employers are strongly lobbying against these bills for obvious reasons, so if you would like them to pass make sure you contact your State legislators. Let them know that you care about workplace bullying, and would like to see effective measures put in place to eliminate it.

When you need your landlord to repair or make improvements to your rental home or apartment make sure you give them notice in writing.

The law usually requires you give the landlord an opportunity to correct or repair the problem before you can take action of your own (such as breaking a lease, or making your own repairs). The law often requires that tenants give notice of any problems or complaints to their landlord in writing.

In most cases, it will not help you to point to problems with your rental unit as an excuse for not paying rent or breaking lease, unless you gave the landlord fair notice, in writing, before the landlord has taken action against you.