41 percent of employees have experienced workplace bullying

Such legal protection is long overdue.

Sandy Herschcovis, a University of Manitoba professor who studies workplace aggression, says, “Between 70 and 80 percent of Americans report rudeness and incivility at work. Over 40 percent have experienced psychological harassment on the job.”

A new study in the International Journal of Stress Management offers this definition of abusive supervisors: “Bosses who humiliate and insult their employees, never let them forget their mistakes, break promises, or isolate employees from other co-workers.”