Florida Legislation 2013 Workplace Abuse

1. The social and economic well-being of the state depends on the health and ability to work of its employees.
2. About half of employees are exposed to health hazards at the workplace: harassment, insults, and harassment. Such forms of personal abuse are approximately four times more common than sexual harassment.
3. Workplace harassment and harassment can cause serious harm to the workers they are exposed to, including the resulting sense of shame and humiliation, severe anxiety disorders, depression, suicidal tendencies, immune system damage, hypertension, high cardiovascular risk, and post-traumatic stress symptoms.
4. Workplace abuse can also have serious consequences for employers, including a decrease in employee productivity, a deterioration in the moral climate, an increase in staff turnover and absenteeism (the act of indifference and inaction), and an increase in medical and labor claims for damages.
5. If an employee who has been abused at work cannot establish that the conduct is related to race, color, sex, national origin or age, it is unlikely that he or she will be protected by law from such treatment.
6. Unlike legislation in the field of employment discrimination, legal protection against workplace abuse should not be limited to protection against personal attacks related to the above reasons.
7. Existing workers' compensation provisions and common-law civil claims are insufficient to stop workplace abuse or provide adequate assistance to workers affected by workplace abuse.

The purpose of this article is to ensure:

1. Legal protection for workers who have suffered psychologically, physically or economically, and who have been deliberately abused at the workplace.
2. Incentives employers to prevent and take responsibility for workplace violence.

The terms used in this article are:

A) 'Offensive behaviour' is a pattern of behavior or a single act by an employer or employee at the workplace committed with malicious intent and not related to the employer's legitimate business, which the victim may consider hostile or offensive, taking into account the degree of cruelty, the very content of the action and its recurrence. Offensive conduct includes but is not limited to:

1. Repeated verbal abuse, such as the use of disparaging remarks, insults, and degrading epithets;
2. A verbal or physical act that an individual may consider threatening, intimidating, or humiliating;
3. By sabotaging or undermining an employee's professional activities or by trying to exploit the employee's known psychological or physical vulnerability.

B) “Workplace Abuse” is a phenomenon in which an employee becomes the object of abusive behavior that may cause psychological or physical harm to his health.

C) “Hostile action affecting an employee's professional position” is an action aimed at an employee's work activity, for example, leading to his dismissal, demotion or unprofitable appointment to another position, refusal to promote an employee, the application of disciplinary measures against an employee, or a reduction in the amount of monetary compensation.

D)”Behavior” in this context, it involves all forms: both actions and inactions.

E) “Worker” is an individual hired by an employer.

F) “Employer” is a state body or any territorial district, local government, administrative-territorial unit, school district, two-year college or state university.

G) “Malicious intent” implies someone wanting to see another person suffer from physical, psychological or economic harm, without a legitimate reason and justifying circumstances, which takes the form of external expressions of hostility, engaging in harmful actions that are not related to the employer's business interests; continuing violence even after the employee has demanded its cessation or has shown clear signs of emotional or physical suffering as a result of the abuse or attempts committed against him exploiting a person's known psychological or physical vulnerability.

H) “Physical harm” — this is a significant violation of a person's physical health or the inviolability of his body, which is duly accepted by the court as evidence.

I) “Psychological harm” — this is a significant mental health disorder, duly accepted by the court as evidence.

Illegal actions in the field of employment:

1. An employer has no right to mistreat an employee at the workplace.
2. An employer may not in any way take retaliatory measures against an employee if he has resisted workplace abuse under this article or brought charges, testified, assisted or otherwise participated in an investigation or trial under this article, including, but not limited to, domestic charges and lawsuits, arbitration proceedings, media proceedings or lawsuits.

Employer's liability and exempting circumstances:

1. An employer violates this article if he makes an employee the object of abuse at the workplace or, having discovered that an employee is being treated in such a way by colleagues, does not take appropriate measures to prevent and punish abusive behavior.
2. If the existing illegal actions at the workplace do not include a hostile act that affects the employee's professional position, the employer may use the following as arguments in his defense: a) the employer has taken appropriate measures to prevent and punish aggressive behavior; (b) the injured employee has unreasonably refused the preventive and corrective measures offered to him by the employer.

Employee liability and circumstances exempting from liability:

1. An employee may be personally liable for illegal actions at the workplace aimed at another employee.
2. An employee can use the following as arguments in his defense: a) the employee committed illegal actions at the workplace against the employer under the threat of a hostile act affecting his professional status; b) the claim is based on a hostile act affecting the employee's professional position due to low productivity, improper conduct or economic necessity; c) the claim is based on the employee's appropriate certification; d) the claim is based on an appropriate investigation identifying possible illegal or unethical actions by the accused.

The remedies available to the employee are:

1. If it is established that an employer or someone else has committed illegal actions in the field of employment in accordance with this article, the highest manifestation of which is a hostile act affecting the employee's professional status, the court may oblige the person not to participate in any illegal actions at the place of work or require some other way to protect the interests of the victim who considers the situation appropriate, including restoring the employee to his previous rights, removing the accused from work victim, payment for previously performed work, advance payment, medical expenses, compensation for moral damage, penalties, and legal fees.
2. If it is established that an employer or someone else has committed illegal actions in the field of employment in accordance with this article, the highest manifestation of which is not a hostile act affecting the employee's professional status, the employer's compensation payments will not exceed $25,000 as compensation for moral damage, and no penalties will be imposed. This paragraph does not apply to individual accused employees.

Translated by Anastasia Pivovarova specially for mobbingu.net