I first wrote about bullying bosses in 1996, when I interviewed Harvey Hornstein, author of "Brutal Bosses." He said an estimated 90 percent of the nation's work force suffers abuse by a boss at some point in their career, and added that "abusive boss behavior has never been more abundant than it is in today's workplaces."

Not much seems to have changed.

Now, though, there are Web sites and groups to support you if you think you are a victim of a bullying boss. One such place is the Workplace Bullying Institute, "dedicated to the eradication of Workplace Bullying." There is also www.BullyBusters.org. And there's even "anti-bullying" legislation that's been introduced in 13 states.

For the record, a bullying boss — not just a tough boss — is one who crosses the line of common decency. He may rant and rave, humiliate you, lie, threaten and basically act as if he can do or say whatever he pleases.

The "Healthy Workplace" bills are targeting such bullying bosses who "behave in a generally harassing, intimidating and/or offensive manner toward their subordinates," explains David Ritter, of Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg's Labor and Employment practice group in Chicago.

You'd think there would already be some way to protect yourself against these kinds of bosses. Federal law prohibits discrimination and harassment, but it's based on specific protected categories, such as race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, disability and age, Ritter says.

So, to make a successful claim, you must not only allege that you were harassed, but "also establish a nexus between the alleged harassment and some protected category," he says. "It wouldn't be enough for you to go into court and say, 'My boss harassed me.' You'd have to say, 'My boss harassed me because of my sex, and/or my age, and/or my race,' and so on."

The way it stands now, you have little recourse other than to complain to management if a boss mistreats you. The "Healthy Workplace" bills prohibit workplace bullying, eliminating the "protected category" requirement.

Ritter explains that proponents of the bill argue "sometimes, harassment or bullying is not based on some particular bias like sex or race," but is the result of "nothing other than a boss's management style or just a general dislike of one employee or another." The legislation will also require employers to prevent and correct bullying.

If such legislation passes, just what will be considered acceptable and unacceptable boss behavior? Is a boss who tells an employee she did a crappy job on a report bullying? What if the boss says it several times? What if he raises his voice or his eyebrow while saying it, as opposed to saying it matter-of-factly? These standards will need to be established, Ritter says.

Hornstein's "eight daily sins" checklist is a good place to start. He says transgressions are committed when "the assumption of some level of mutual and unconditional respect" between adults is breached. They include: deceit; restricting subordinates' activities in domains outside of work such as where they live and civic activity; threatening excessive or inappropriate harm for not complying with a boss's wishes; public humiliation or name-calling; a flagrant lack of concern for subordinates' lives ("I don't give a damn about your family's problems"); and "implying a master-servant status," where bosses say or do whatever they please.

So far the legislation is being discussed, but no bill has passed. If you want to know more or learn how to become a "Citizen Lobbyist," go to www.bullybusters.org/advocacy/citizenlobby.html.

In the meantime, Ritter urges employers to have well-written policies and procedures about harassment and "take prompt, adequate steps to investigate and remedy any complaint," modifying their policies to prohibit conduct that may be considered bullying.

It boils down to treating one another with respect.