"There's no law, at least in Florida, that promises you a nice, warm, fuzzy boss." -- Labor lawyer Robert Kofman [Illustration: Jens Bonnke / Getty]

While case law governing workplace harassment is relatively well formed when it comes to age, race, disability, national origin and gender, things are still murky when it comes to garden-variety bullying and rudeness. A supervisor who constantly screams at his assistant, shouting insults in even the crudest terms, for example, may be abusive, but his behavior may not be actionable in court.

"There's no law, at least in Florida, that promises you a nice, warm, fuzzy boss," says Robert Kofman, a labor and employment lawyer with Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson in Miami. "If the boss is an equal-opportunity abuser, yelling and screaming at everyone, that's not illegal. That's an easy case to defend."

A hard case to defend would have to fall under one of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's protected categories, which include age, race, disability, national origin or sex. Bullying isn't covered.

Scott Callen, a lawyer with Foley & Lardner's Tallahassee office, says a dozen states, including New York and California, are looking at legislation that would make it easier for bullied employees to win in court. There's no pending legislation in Florida, Callen says, but he suggests that the state is likely to be swept along with trends in legislation -- and attitudes -- elsewhere.

Earlier this year, for example, an Employee Law Alliance poll found that 45% of American workers say they have experienced workplace abuse -- and 64% say victims should have legal recourse. Also this year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced the first increase in job-bias charges nationwide since 2002.

"I think the law will eventually evolve into prohibiting abusive workplace environments, regardless of protected classes," Callen says. "In terms of nationwide, we'll probably get there within the next five years -- maybe sooner."

While a bill requiring "dignity and respect" in the workplace would likely be popular among voters and politicians, Kofman isn't so sure it's a good idea. He says that some behaviors are obviously abusive, such as yelling, berating or throwing a stapler at someone, but other behaviors aren't so clear-cut. How, he asks, would a potential law deal with a boss who is "intense and brooding and gives you the cold shoulder because he's so focused on his work?"

Also, given the Employee Law Alliance poll results, Kofman predicts that a workplace abuse law would lead to an avalanche of litigation: "We would need a lot more lawyers, I think."

Mark Cheskin, a partner in Hogan & Hartson's Miami office, thinks the better way to deal with workplace abuse is to stop it before it gets to court. Even a suit that has no chance of winning is expensive for companies to fight. Employers, Kofman says, can easily spend $100,000 or more defending a frivolous case. "To avoid lawsuits, companies really have to make sure they have good training in place so that supervisors and managers understand that their conduct can lead to lawsuits," Cheskin says. "And there has to be internal grievance policies so that employees believe they can air their concerns over how they are being treated."

That applies to law firms as well. Kofman's firm has a code of conduct and mutual respect for its employees -- and anyone who breaks it can be fired. "We have told lawyers to leave who have been abusive to staff -- and they have been otherwise productive lawyers," he says.

Show of Support

Three years ago, Mitchell Widom's daughter Taylor was diagnosed with Crohn's disease -- a chronic disorder that causes inflammation of the digestive or gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms can include cramps, fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss and bowel problems. Researchers don't know what causes it, and there's no cure. The treatment can include a slew of medications, including steroids.

"It's a disease that not very many people talk about because of the type of disease it is and how it affects you," says Widom, a Miami trial attorney with Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod.

Since the diagnosis, Widom has turned his energies toward raising money for Crohn's research. First, he created a fishing event held each May in Islamorada. Then, he went statewide with what he calls the Law Firm Challenge, asking attorneys at firms across Florida to financially support the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America.

In 2005, the first year of his effort, Widom raised $152,000. Last year, the challenge and the tournament together raised $352,000, making it the biggest Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America fund-raiser in Florida. So far this year, 202 law firms are participating, up from 128 last year.

One participant is Eric Ludin of Tucker & Ludin in Clearwater, whose son, Jacob, also has Crohn's. Ludin agreed to organize the Law Firm Challenge along Florida's west coast. Widom, he says, is "bringing lawyers together, but not through a Bar association or any other organization. It's mainly his doing."

Meanwhile, Taylor Widom, now 13, "takes about 11 pills a day, but she has been doing very, very well," says Widom. Ludin says Jacob, 15, is also doing well -- "a happy kid who is learning to deal with his situation."