Massachusetts Workplace Bullying and Cyberbullying Laws

Workplace bullying generally refers to repeated, unreasonable behavior directed at an employee that creates a risk to health or safety. Examples include verbal abuse, intimidation, humiliation, sabotage of someone’s work, or abuse of power.

Workplace cyberbullying is the same kind of conduct carried out through email, texts, social media, messaging apps, or other electronic means, whether it happens on company systems or off-duty devices when it spills into the workplace.

It’s important to separate three concepts that often get blurred:

• Bullying is a broad, non-legal term for abusive or mistreating conduct.
• Harassment, in the legal sense, is unwelcome conduct tied to a protected characteristic (race, sex, age, disability, etc.) that’s severe or pervasive enough to alter working conditions.
• Unlawful discrimination involves adverse employment decisions (firing, demotion, denial of promotion) based on a protected characteristic.

What Federal Laws Apply to Workplace Bullying and Cyberbullying?

No federal law prohibits “bullying” by name. Instead, several statutes address the harassment and safety issues that often accompany it:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits harassment and discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin for employers with 15 or more employees.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects employees with disabilities from harassment and requires reasonable accommodations; disability-based bullying can qualify as unlawful harassment.
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protects workers 40 and older from age-based harassment and discrimination.
• The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), through its General Duty Clause, requires employers to maintain a workplace free from recognized hazards — which can include a pattern of abusive conduct that creates psychological or physical safety risks, though OSHA rarely enforces bullying claims directly.
• The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects employees’ rights to engage in “concerted activity” (discussing wages, conditions, organizing) — retaliatory bullying against employees for this kind of activity can violate the NLRA regardless of union status.
• Federal cyberstalking and threat statutes (like 18 U.S.C. § 2261A) criminalize using electronic communications to stalk or threaten someone across state lines, which can apply to severe workplace cyberbullying.

How Do Massachusetts Workplace Bullying Laws Differ from Federal Laws?

Massachusetts provides significantly broader workplace protections than federal law. The state’s primary anti-discrimination statute, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 151B, protects a wider set of characteristics than Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA combined, and applies to smaller employers than federal law.

• Additional protected classes: Chapter 151B covers race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation), gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, age (40+), disability, and military/veteran status. Sexual orientation has been protected in Massachusetts since 1989 and gender identity since 2011, both well ahead of federal recognition of these categories.
• Lower employer coverage threshold: Chapter 151B applies to employers with 6 or more employees, which pulls many more small Massachusetts businesses into state-law coverage.
• A dedicated sexual harassment statute: Chapter 151B, Section 3A goes further than federal law by imposing an affirmative policy obligation that has no federal equivalent for most private employers.
• Filing deadline: Employees have 300 days to file a charge with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), which aligns with the EEOC’s extended deadline in states with a fair employment agency.
• Coverage gap for independent contractors: Massachusetts courts have held that Chapter 151B doesn’t protect independent contractors, though the Massachusetts Equal Rights Act (MERA) has been recognized by courts as an alternative avenue for discrimination claims by workers who fall outside 151B.

Workplace bullying that isn’t tied to a protected characteristic is still not independently actionable under current Massachusetts law, but this is one of the areas where the state is closest to changing that.

Does Massachusetts Have Laws Specifically Addressing Workplace Bullying?

No, but Massachusetts is one of the most active states in the country pushing to change that. There is currently no enacted “Healthy Workplace” statute, so workplace bullying untethered from a protected characteristic remains outside the law’s reach.

However, Massachusetts has repeatedly introduced a version of the Healthy Workplace Bill, most recently as Senate Bill S.1170 (“An Act addressing workplace bullying, mobbing, and harassment, without regard to protected class status while promoting healthy workplaces”). The bill would create a civil cause of action for “abusive conduct” and an “abusive work environment,” explicitly covering online/electronic workplace abuse, regardless of whether the conduct is tied to a protected class — closing exactly the gap that exists under current law.

Until and unless S.1170 or similar legislation passes, employer obligations regarding hostile work environments run only through Chapter 151B and federal law. They’re triggered by protected-class-based harassment, not generalized bullying, rudeness, or toxic management style.

How Does Massachusetts Define Workplace Bullying?

There’s no statutory definition yet, so the same behavioral markers used federally apply:

• Verbal abuse, intimidation, or humiliation
• Threatening, hostile, or offensive conduct
• Repeated versus isolated conduct
• Abuse of authority or power imbalance

How Does Massachusetts Define Workplace Cyberbullying?

Massachusetts has no cyberbullying-specific employment statute, but its criminal harassment and stalking laws explicitly extend to electronic conduct. Relevant components include:

• Harassment through email, messaging apps, or social media: These are covered the same way in-person harassment is.
• Online threats, intimidation, or humiliation: Massachusetts’s criminal harassment statute (G.L. c. 265, §43A) and stalking statute (§43) were explicitly interpreted by courts to reach electronic communications. Cyberstalking falls under these existing statutes rather than a separate cyberstalking law.
• Use of employer devices or systems: Conduct on company email or chat platforms falls within the employer’s monitoring and enforcement authority under its own acceptable-use and conduct policies.
• Off-duty online conduct affecting the workplace: This is increasingly treated by employers as within scope when it’s directed at a coworker and bleeds into the workplace, even if it happened after hours or on personal accounts.

When Does Workplace Bullying Become Illegal in Massachusetts?

Bullying in the workplace is illegal if it’s tied to a protected characteristics or if the level of harassment has created a hostile work environment. Additionally, retaliation against someone who filed a harassment or discrimination complaint or anything involving stalking, threats, or violence are illegal actions.

Are Employers Required to Address Workplace Bullying Complaints in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts imposes specific obligations:

• Internal reporting and investigation obligations: Massachusetts case law establishes that employers must investigate harassment complaints once on notice; failure to do so is itself a basis for liability.
• Anti-harassment and workplace conduct policies: Chapter 151B, Section 3A requiresemployers with 6 or more employees to adopt a written sexual harassment policy.
• Documentation and recordkeeping: While current law doesn’t set specific retention periods for complaint records, maintaining clear documentation of complaints, investigations, and outcomes is essential to defending against MCAD claims and demonstrating good-faith compliance.
• Corrective action expectations: Employers can be held liable for a supervisor’s harassing conduct regardless of whether the employer had actual knowledge of it, making prompt corrective action and clear escalation paths especially important.

What Are the Potential Consequences for Workplace Bullying in Massachusetts?

Potential consequences for workplace bullying include disciplinary action taken by the employer or termination of employment. Criminal penalties may also apply, depending on the severity of the bullying.

Can Workplace Cyberbullying Lead to Criminal Charges in Massachusetts?

Yes, if any of the following laws are being violated:

• Cyberstalking / stalking laws:G.L. c. 265, §43 covers a knowing pattern of conduct directed at a specific person that includes a threat intended to place them in imminent fear of death or bodily injury; courts have applied this to conduct carried out via email, social media, and other electronic means.
• Criminal harassment / electronic harassment: G.L. c. 265, §43A criminalizes a willful, malicious, knowing pattern of conduct that seriously alarms a person and would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress, whether committed in person, by phone, text, email, or fax. It also now includes a ban on non-consensual distribution of intimate images, added by amendment in 2024.
• Threats of violence or coercion: Separately chargeable as a threat to commit a crime (G.L. c. 275, §2) or a civil rights violation (c. 265, §37).
• Unauthorized electronic monitoring or impersonation: Conduct involving unauthorized account access or online impersonation to harass a coworker can implicate Massachusetts’s identity theft and computer crime statutes in addition to the harassment and stalking laws above.

Are Employers Required to Provide Workplace Bullying Training in Massachusetts?

Currently it is not a requirement of private employers. However, the passing of House Bill H.5023 would require covered employers to provide interactive harassment training. As written, the bill includes employers with 25+ employees.

It is recommended to offer such training in the workplace, particularly for supervisors and managers.

Do Cities or Municipalities in Massachusetts Have Additional Workplace Bullying Protections?

In Massachusetts, protected-class coverage is already comprehensive at the state level (including sexual orientation and gender identity), so local Fairness Ordinance-style gaps aren’t a major factor here. However, some municipalities, including Cambridge and Boston, have adopted local ordinances to address discrimination in city employment or municipal contracting.

What Should Employers in Massachusetts Keep in Mind About Workplace Bullying and Cyberbullying Laws?

Following these best practices is the best way to protect the organization and its employees from bullying and cyberbullying:

• Maintain a compliant written sexual harassment policy: This is a legal requirement under Chapter 151B, Section 3A for any employer with 6+ employees. It must be distributed at hire and annually thereafter.
• Implement clear complaint and investigation procedures: Since Massachusetts case law establishes an investigation duty once an employer is on notice, having a defined process in place before a complaint arrives is essential.
• Train managers and employees: While not yet mandated for private employers, it’s strongly encouraged under current law and likely to become a requirement if H.5023 or similar legislation passes.
• Prevent retaliation against complainants: Retaliation claims are explicitly actionable under Chapter 151B and are frequently the stronger claim in a given case.
• Monitor electronic communications lawfully: Document monitoring practices in policy and apply them consistently to avoid separate claims.
• Watch S.1170: Massachusetts is closer than most states to enacting a true anti-bullying statute untethered from protected-class status. Employers should treat this as a compliance item to track.
• Know when to seek legal guidance: Any complaint involving protected-class harassment, retaliation, a credible threat, or potential criminal conduct (stalking, criminal harassment) warrants prompt involvement of employment counsel.

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