Yes. While there are no specific groups listed in Virginia`s anti-bullying laws or regulations, Virginia requires all schools to adopt the state`s model policy that addresses the treatment of transgender students. Laws in Virginia and the rest of the United States make discrimination and harassment illegal in the workplace. If someone is bullied at work by co-workers, management or even members of the public who do not work there, the victim and anyone who witnessed the bullying have legal recourse. Workplace bullying can be so severe that the target literally can`t find a way out. If the harassment became too serious, most of us would simply quit our jobs, but others could find ourselves trapped for professional, financial or psychological reasons. A 2003 study of 1,000 people who reported being bullied in the workplace found that 25% had suicidal thoughts and 39% had been diagnosed with depression. In Virginia, the Department of Human Rights investigates complaints about the Virginia Human Rights Act and related federal laws. Complaints against an employer with six to 14 employees fall under state jurisdiction, while large companies fall under federal jurisdiction and are referred to the EEOC. “abusive conduct” means conduct by an employee of a school board in the work place that a reasonable person would find hostile and that is serious enough to cause physical or psychological harm to another employee of the school board, based on a finding that takes into account the severity, type and frequency of the behaviour and, if so, the continuation of the behaviour, after an employee of the school board has requested the cessation of the behaviour or shows external signs of physical or psychological harm. “Abusive behaviour” includes verbal or physical behaviour that a reasonable person would find threatening, intimidating or humiliating; gratuitous sabotage or impairment of the job performance of another school board employee; Attempts to exploit the known mental or physical vulnerability of another school official; or repeated verbal abuse, such as the use of derogatory remarks, insults or nicknames. “Abusive conduct” does not include (i) a single act unless it is particularly serious, or (ii) conduct that the school board demonstrates with clear and convincing evidence that is necessary to further its legitimate and legitimate interests. The Education Section of Title 22.1 of the Virginia Code deals with bullying in schools for students and teachers.

The Code defines bullying as aggressive and unwanted behaviour intended to hurt, intimidate or humiliate the victim, which constitutes a “real or perceived power imbalance between the perpetrator(s) and the victim; and repeats over time or causes severe emotional trauma. “Yes. Virginia`s anti-bullying laws require the principal of each school to notify parents of a student involved in an alleged bullying incident of the status of an investigation within five school days of the allegation of bullying. If you are being bullied in the workplace, contact our office so we can talk about the situation, what was done, the harm you suffered and how to proceed. Ignoring the problems won`t make them go away. No, Virginia`s anti-bullying laws do not cover off-campus behavior. In January, Wisconsin Labor Relations Board (WERC) auditor Stuart Levitan ruled that the termination of employee and alleged workplace bully Rachel Koester was justified, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. She is involved in the long-standing and severe workplace bullying of Philip Otto, who was 52 when he committed suicide in March 2012. At the hearing, his wife, daughter and staff described a pattern of bullying by colleagues at the state-run Oakhill Correctional Facility. Otto was a 20-year veteran of the penitentiary department.

He died just a few months before his retirement with all benefits. The survey found that 21% of women have experienced same-sex bullying (i.e., women who bully women). For men who bully men, the statistic is 40%. A similar survey in 2007 found that bullying is four times more common than illegal forms of harassment in the workplace. These laws generally protect employees from “adverse employment measures” and “hostile work environments” based on the protected categories mentioned above.