Workplace bullying and mobbing are forms of psychological abuse that violate a worker’s basic right to dignity.

How abuse at work usually unfolds

A pattern repeats across workplaces:

A bully feels threatened by a competent employee and begins undermining them through persistent psychological abuse. Management ignores or mishandles complaints, often pretending there is a fair process while doing nothing to stop the harm. The abuse continues, the process drags on, and the targeted employee is pushed out—by resignation, termination, serious illness, or worse. The employer avoids liability. The worker absorbs the damage.

The problem with current law

There is no U.S. law that protects workers from psychological abuse unless they can prove discrimination based on a protected class and intent—an almost impossible standard. Workers’ compensation excludes psychological injury, employer policies are unenforceable, and training-only approaches don’t work. As a result, abuse remains legal, widespread, and unaddressed.

The solution: the Workplace Psychological Safety Act (WPSA)

The WPSA recognizes workplace psychological abuse as exploitation and creates real accountability.

It:

• Makes employers liable for creating or tolerating toxic work environments

• Does not require victims to prove intent

• Focuses on prevention, not just punishment

• Reduces reliance on discrimination law while strengthening protections for those most harmed

• Requires transparency and accountability from employers

Just as the law intervenes in abusive households, it must intervene in abusive workplaces.
Workers deserve psychologically safe work environments.