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Monday, August 04, 2008

Ind. Decisions - "Lawyers and Employers Take The Fight to 'Workplace Bullies'"

Indiana's "workplace bullying" case, Daniel H. Raess, M.D. v. Joseph E. Doescher (ILB summary here), about which the ILB has had many entries, is the subject of a column by Cari Tuna today in the WSJ's Career Journal that begins:

A recent U.S. court case and new research are focusing attention on "workplace bullying," prompting some employers to take steps to curb aggressive behavior.

Experts define workplace bullying as subtle, persistent and often nondiscriminatory harassment of co-workers. Unlike sexual or racial harassment, workplace bullying isn't necessarily illegal. But bullying can contribute to absenteeism and turnover and escalate into illegal behavior if left unchecked, experts say.

In April, the Indiana Supreme Court reinstated a $325,000 verdict for Joseph Doescher, a former medical technician who had sued Daniel Raess, a cardiovascular surgeon, for assault in 2002.

Mr. Doescher's attorneys portrayed Dr. Raess as a verbally abusive workplace bully. In the 2002 incident, Mr. Doescher claimed Dr. Raess yelled at and advanced toward him with clenched fists. Dr. Raess's lawyers argued that the bully label was irrelevant and the surgeon's actions didn't amount to assault. But four of the five justices disagreed, deeming workplace bullying an "entirely appropriate" term.

The ruling doesn't mean that employees can sue for workplace bullying alone. But Kevin Betz, who represented Mr. Doescher, calls the ruling "a major breakthrough," as the first time a court recognized bullying as an issue. Dr. Raess couldn't be reached for comment, and his lawyer, Karl Mulvaney, declined to comment.

[More] More today about workplace issues. "N.J. justices add religion jokes to workplace ban" - see the entry from How Appealing. "Desk Rage" - see the entry from ABA Journal Blog.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 4, 2008 08:58 AM
Posted to Ind. Sup.Ct. Decisions