Don't Let Bullies Take a Bite Out of Your Work Comp Budget

The message is clear by now – workplace bullying can be harmful to your company's financial health. An employee who is bullied by a co-employer, a supervisor, or even a customer, may file a worker's compensation claim for mental stress, depression or anxiety. Such mental stress claims can be compensable, and your company can end up paying temporary or even permanent disability, permanent impairment, and medical bills for psychological and psychiatric counseling.

Indiana has a far reaching rule regarding mental stress cases. The Supreme Court found in Hansen v. Von Duprin, Inc., 507 N.E.2d 573 (Ind. 1987), that "whether the injury is mental or physical, the determinative standard [is] the same. The issue . . . is simply whether the injury arose out of and in the course of employment."

In the Hansen case, the plaintiff had a history of emotional difficulties after being shot by her husband. However, she was able to work. Her supervisor, in what is a classic case of workplace bullying, liked to scare her by making loud noises and shooting off cap guns. After one episode, she left work and was diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression which rendered her unable to work. The court noted that Hansen had previous conditions that rendered her susceptible to an emotional injury, but held that this anxiety was compensable because it was caused by the supervisor's harassment.

If workplace bullying causes an employee to require medical care for an emotional injury, renders the employee disabled, either temporarily or permanently, or results in permanent impairment, it is compensable under the Worker's Compensation Act. Of course, in the event of such a finding, the employer is protected from a lawsuit by the exclusive remedy provision of the Worker's Compensation Act.

There is also a series of cases in which claimants allege non-physical injuries but do not contend that they were disabled or required medical care. Rather, they claim defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, for example. The courts have held that where workplace bullying results in this type of harm, but not the types of harms remedied by the Worker's Compensation Act, the employee may be free to sue the employer. Perry v. Stitzer Buick GMC, Inc., 637 N.E.2d 1282 (Ind. 1994).

You can avoid both the worker's compensation claim and the civil lawsuit by having stringent rules against workplace bullying which you enforce firmly and uniformly.

If you have questions about the interaction of your worker's compensation program with other employment law requirements, please contact Ann Stewart or Kathleen Shortridge.

This publication is intended for general information purposes only and does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice.  The reader must consult with legal counsel to determine how laws or decisions discussed herein apply to the reader's specific circumstances.