18 October 2018

‘Workplace bullying payouts could reach lofty US levels in NZ’ warns US advocate

Payouts for victims of workplace bullying could reach lofty US levels for employers in time, according to the founder of the American Workplace Bullying Institute, who is due to land in New Zealand on Monday (October 22).

“Employers need to know that the pay-outs at the level we see in the United States could become a reality in New Zealand if cases were taken through criminal law channels as opposed to through the ERA,” said Dr Namie, who will provide the keynote address at CultureShift 2018 at Te Papa on October 24 and 25. Culture Shift is New Zealand’s first ‘Action, not just words’ anti-workplace bullying summit, and is being hosted by CultureSafe.

Ahead of the summit, Dr Namie reviewed some of CultureSafe’s successes at the ERA through an American lens.

“The largest-ever ERA award in a New Zealand workplace bullying case is $98,000 which handed to a kindergarten teacher with more than 20 years’ experience,” Dr Namie said.

“Despite the press attention to the case, the names of the applicant and respondent were stripped away. Anonymity blocks accountability. Given the mean-spirited nature of the teacher's mistreatment and subsequent effect on her family and career, had this case been heard by an American jury at trial, the award could easily have reached USD $1.5 million – or almost NZ $2.3million.”

Dr Namie acts as an expert witness who works with a California attorney who accepts employment cases on a contingency basis and who regularly wins major cases in jury trials.

Dr Namie provided conservative estimates of what the jury monetary verdicts might be if they had been pursued in court in the States as contrasted with the ERA here in New Zealand.

“Another heavily publicised case was James Hilford vs St John. The June 2018 determination ordered the payment of $68,000 to Hilford within 28 days. However, St John's appeal remains unresolved in late October. The appeal has further harmed Hilford and his family. This case is akin to a police department case in Los Angeles that went to trial before leading to a USD$4.5 million settlement offer.”

Dr Namie said New Zealand has criminal laws addressing the “failure of duty of care, but what seems to be missing are plaintiffs’ lawyers willing to pursue such cases on behalf of aggrieved workers on a contingency basis”.

He said if cases were pursued under criminal law, the awards to victims of workplace bullying could be much higher than what the ERA dishes out.

Justice Minister Andrew Little will open the conference which aims to combat workplace bullying including sexual harassment. National Party spokesperson on workplace relations and safety Scott Simpson will open day two. They will be joined by a line-up of speakers including; Worksafe NZ chief executive Nicole Rosie; E tū national director of organising and vice-president of the Council of Trade Unions Rachel Mackintosh; Olivia Wensley, legal disruptor; and Mental Health Foundation CEO Shaun Robinson.

“To have both Labour’s heavy hitting Justice Minister and National’s spokesperson on workplace relations and safety kick-off our conference is fantastic,” CultureSafe NZ director Allan Halse said.

“It is great to have Government officials and the Council of Trade Unions on the same platform as CultureSafe NZ Ltd for the first time. It’s time to transition from an ‘us versus them’ adversarial relationship to a partnership where we can work together to create solutions that will bring an end to New Zealand’s bullying workplace culture.

“We need to collaborate to create a solution including agreement and commitment to a legislative and cultural programme that will see bullying have its own separate legislation and the support that it truly deserves,” Halse said.

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