I'm at a relatively small company in Illinois, and we have no known written policy on workplace violence or harrassment. There is one woman who works with us who is not an owner, manager, or any other authority figure, but she constantly bullies and intimidates other employees, ranging from verbal to physical manifestations (sneaking up behind employees and whacking them in the *** with a piece of plastic is just one of a few recent antics). I have been polite in dealings with her, but have otherwise tried to stay off her radar for obvious reasons. All was reasonably well until about a week ago. There was a misunderstanding over some forms, and in my explanation to one of the owners, I stated that this woman "was on the phone at the time in question and therefore could not assist me", and then I went on with the rest of my explanation. Well, ever since then, outside of and within the presence of management, this woman had repeatedly threatened "I'll kick your a**", and "you f***ed with the wrong person", "you better watch your back", and "stay out of my face". I am not stupid enough to have ever wanted to start a fight of any kind with this woman, but here we are. Amazing thing is, when (in an attempt to bring this out and resolve it once and for all) she repeated those threats IN FRONT OF the owner, not only did the owner say nothing, but even after I firmly stated that I did not think it necessary or appropriate to physically threaten a coworker in the workplace, this monstrous woman retorted "Well, I do, because I can't stand you." I looked to the owner to back up some sense of professional attitude, but she just stared blankly. I have been scouring the web looking for any official rules, laws, or case law in IL or the US governing workplace violence and /or harassment, but it seems only to be something that companies are VOLUNTARILY including in their policies, not something officially covered in criminal or labor law. Am I missing something? This company seems to be just fine with condoning a climate of violence.

The only thing you're missing is that nothing unlawful is taking place (except for any actual physical assaults.) It's hard to imagine that the owner is not taking exception to this woman's behavior but she's not obligated to do so. It is not against the law to be a jerk, even a world class jerk, or even totally nuts.

Even if your employer had a policy prohibiting this type of intimidating, abusive behavior and foul language, that has no force of law and would not make the employer's failure to do something illegal. What you describe is an awful and completely unacceptable situation but it does not constitute harassment or a hostile work environment under the law.

If I were you, I'd (a) be looking for a new job and quit this one as soon as I secured other employment, and (2) call the police instantly the first time this woman ever put her hands on me.

My lady friend works as a bookkeeper/office manager in a small office with a total of five people in the office plus the owner. This is in a highly technical business in which she has had over 20 years of experience. She works hard, is conscientious, and likes the work. The problem is the owner seems to be a virtual psychpath. He swings from generous moods to being totally abusive. He psychologically batters my friend regularly with 45 minute screaming fits about anything and everything, making unfounded accusations, holding her responsible for things that only a month before he told her to stay out of, has sexually harrassed an attractive youger co-worker and screams at my friend about anything this coworker does, etc. Now, I know being a jerk like this is not illegal, but where my questions comes in is this: My friend is 64 years old and needs the job badly. At this age, it would be virtually impossible to find another job. It is her vulnerability in this regard that makes it possible for her boss to browbeat her day in and day out, threaten her, and generally make her life miserable. It has gotten to the point that she is getting physically ill from it. Does she have any recourse at all short of just walking out? She can't afford that.

The boss being a raving abusive lunatic doesn't violate any laws however your lady friend might have a civil claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) if her State recognizes such actions, the boss's behavior rises to the level of truly outrageous (which is a very high standard to meet) and your friend has suffered damages as a result of his behavior.

Your friend will need to discuss this with a local attorney to determine if she has a viable claim to bring.