
Patricia G. Barnes is a nationally-recognized expert on employment discrimination and workplace abuse. She is an attorney, former judge, author, expert witness and consultant to workers and employers.
She has been widely quoted by national media, including The New York Times, Bloomberg Labor Report, VOX, CNBC News, AARP, Businessweek, Fast Company, VOX, Bustle, Society for Human Resource Management, etc.
Ms. Barnes is also the editor of the blog, Age Discrimination in Employment,
which chronicles the systemic inequality of older workers under U.S. law.
For speaking engagements, interviews, trainings or consultation, contact Ms. Barnes at barnespatg @ gmail.com.
Books
SURVIVING BULLIES, QUEEN BEES & PSYCHOPATHS IN THE WORKPLACE is the best-selling legal guide to the problem of workplace bullying and abuse in the United States.
Workplace bullying costs employers billions each year in health care costs, absenteeism and turnover. It is like a cancer that poisons morale and is at the core of many race and gender discrimination complaints. This book helps employers understand, address and prevent workplace bullying and abuse. Workers will learn to recognize the problem and take constructive action to save their jobs and avoid potentially serious damage to their mental and physical health. The book has garnered numerous five-star reviews from prominent workplace bullying experts on Amazon.com . Ms. Barnes is a co-founder of the National Workplace Bullying Coalition.
TRANSCEND YOUR BOSS: ZEN AND THE DIFFICULT WORKPLACE , provides targets of employment discrimination, bullying and abuse with a time tested path to survival in a hostile workplace environment.
Overwhelming research shows severe stress at work causes mental and physical harm and the longer it continues, the worse the harm. Many victims suffer post-traumatic stress for years afterwards. Zen theory and meditation offer relief from debilitating stress and greater clarity and focus. It helps them refrain from hitting the send button on an incendiary email that can be used against them by a bullying supervisor. Workers gain time and perspective to address the problem of workplace bullying in a positive and appropriate manner. *This was the FIRST book advocating the use of meditation in the workplace.

The American Bar Association called Ms. Barnes book groundbreaking book on age discrimination, BETRAYED: THE LEGALIZATION OF AGE DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE, a “must read for everyone over 40.”
Ms. Barnes argues the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) was weak to begin with and has been eviscerated by the U.S. Supreme Court. Older workers literally are second class citizens under U.S. law, with far less protection than individuals who are subject to discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion or national origin. Fifty years after the ADEA’s passage, age discrimination remains epidemic in the United States, hidden behind terms such as “long-term unemployment” and “early retirement.” And the problem is trickling down to ever younger workers. Today, even workers in their 30s experience age discrimination in some industries, such as the high tech industry in Silicon Valley.
OVERCOMING AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE FOR WORKERS, ADVOCATES & EMPLOYERS will help employers avoid costly litigation, risk, and to retain high-quality workers. Older workers will learn to recognize, confront and overcome age discrimination.
Ms. Barnes also wrote two books for Congressional Quarterly Press that are held in libraries around the world: CQ’s Desk Reference on American Criminal Justice and CQ’s Desk Reference on the American Courts ; and, edited a three volume series of books, Domestic Violence: From a Private Matter to a Federal Offense.
She is a senior contributor to Forbes.com, a past contributor to The ABA Journal, and has written articles for many national publications, including Salon, Newsweek and The National Law Journal.
Selected Media
- Quoted by New American, Ex-judge: Election Justice Stymied Because Whole Court System Is Intimidated By Left, (12/22/20).
- Guest on KNPR (National Public Radio, NV) program, Older workers More of A Force In Nevada and Nationwide (6/21/19)
- Invited to become a contributor to Forbes.com with a speciality in age discrimination (May 2019).
- Interview by American Legal News, An Interview with Patricia G. Barnes, J.D., How the AARP Fleeces Consumers and Ignores Rampant Workplace Age Discrimination, by Lynn Shapiro (2/25/19).
- Quoted by The Muse, 9 Tips to Prevent Ageism in Hiring (Even if You Didn’t Realize it Was There, by Stav Ziv (Jan. 23, 2019).
- Quoted by Society for Human Resource Management, A Half Century After Age Discrimination Becam,e Illegal, It Persists, by Daria Wilkie (January 22, 2019).
- Quoted by BloombergQuint, Why Middle-Aged Accountants are Suing PwC Over Campus Recruiting, by Robert Burnson (March 16, 2018).
- Quoted by Society for Human Resource Management, Viewpoint: How to Steer Clear of Ageism in the Workplace, by Kathy Gurchiek, 3/05/2018.
- Quoted by OZY.com, Are Hashtags Changing Perspectives on Workplace Harassment?, by Olivia Miltner, 1/22/18.
- Quoted by USA Today,Are you a good person? Morality experts say this is how to find out, by Alia E. Dastagir (12/26/2017).
- Quoted by AARP, Age Discrimination Law Turns 50, by Kenneth Terrell, 12/14/2017.
- Quoted by The Columbus Dispatch, Magistrate Allows Ohio State Age Discrimination Lawsuit to Move Forward, by Earl Rinehart, 12/10/2017.
- The Berkeley Daily Planet, The Epidemic of Age Discrimination, by Harry Brill (11/17/2017).
- Quoted by Bloomberg Law Daily Labor Report, Older Workers Need Reassurance Against Age Bias, by Martin Berman-Gorvine, 6/14/17. (Behind a pay wall).
- Quoted by CNBC.com, Fighting to stay competitive, more men turn to Botox, by Bob Sullivan, 5/22/17.
- Quoted by Society for Human Resource Management, Could College Recruitment Programs Be Considered Unlawful? by Roy Mauer. 5/11/17.
- Quoted b y Bustle: 11 Steps to take if You are Being Sexually Harassed at Work, by Elizabeth Strassner, 4/20/2017; Also, Why Women Hesitate to Report Men Like Bill O’Reilly, by Elizabeth Strassner. 4/20/2017.
- Guest, 680 CJOB Radio Winnipeg, a Canadian news/talk radio station that broadcasts throughout the province, into Saskatchewan and south into the Dakotas and Minnesota. Topic: Bill O’Reilly and sexual harassment. 4/19/17.
- Quoted by USA Today, In the era of Bill O’Reilly, Have we grown indifferent to sexual harassment? by Alia E. Dastagir. 4/7/17.
- Quoted by Society for Human Resource Management, Job Sites Respond to Age Discrimination Claims, by Roy Maurer. 4/20/17.
- Quoted by Bloomberg Daily Labor Report, R.J. Reynolds Applicant Seeks Justices’ Review of Age Bias Claims, by Patrick Dorrian, 3/6/2017.
- Quoted by Bloomberg Daily Labor Report & Bloomberg Law, Talkin/ ‘Bout All Generations: Workplace Age Diversity Lacking, by Patrick Dorrian, (11/28/2016).
- Quoted by VOX, Megyn Kelly, Gretchen Carlson’s Sex harassment claims could oust Roger Ailes from Fox News, by Emily Crockett, 7/19/16. Also quoted by VOX in Why one harassment allegation against powerful men like Roger Ailes often leads to many more, by Emily Crockett, (7/8/16).
- Quoted by NBCnews.com, “For Older Workers, Getting a New Job can be a Gamble,” by Bob Sullivan (July 10, 2016).
- Quoted by Fast Company.com, Five Common Workplace Bullies (And How to Deal with Them) (5/16/16).
- Quoted by New York Times, Trying to Make a Case for Age Discrimination, by Elizabeth Olson (March 18, 2016).
- Cited in Managing Workplace Diversity and Inclusion: A Psychological Perspective by Rosemary Hays-Thomas (2016).
- Author, Older Workers Lives Matter, Medium (August 30, 2015).
- Author, Age Discrimination and Elder Poverty, ChangingAging with Dr. Bill Thomas (April 30, 2015).
- Author, An Epidemic of Age Discrimination, Aging Today, American Society on Aging (1/21/15).
- Author, Prescription for an Impoverished Retirement, International Federation on Aging ( 11/6/14).
- Author, “Second Class Citizenship for Older Workers,” Today’s Workplace (10/22/14).
- Quoted by Fast Company, Why Sexual Harassment Is Still An Issue And Why So Many Get Away With It, by Gwen Morgan (6/25/14).
- I am honored that Dr. Alan A. Cavaiolo, c0-author of Toxic Coworkers (2000), recommended my book, Surviving Bullies, Queen Bees & Psychopaths in the Workplace, in his article, Welcome to the 18th Century, which appeared on Psychology Today’s web page (May 2014).
- Co-founder, National Workplace Bullying Coalition (2014) and moderator at the Coalition’s first conference at Rutger’s University, New Jersey.
- Author, Workplace Bullying: When the Abuser Goes to Work, Family & Intimate Partner Violence Quarterly, edited by Mo Therese Hannah, Ph.D. (Vol. 6 #2,Fall 2013).
- Quoted by Bloomberg Businessweek, Field Guide to Office Bullies (11/21/12).
- Contributor, Back Off! Your Kick-Ass Guide to Ending Bullying @ Work, an excellent book by co-authors Catherine Mattice and E.G. Sebastian (7/2012).
- Author, Workplace Bullying: When the Abuser Goes to Work, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE REPORT, a leading national resource for scholars and advocates in the field of domestic violence. (4/5/11)
- Co-author (with NV State Senator Richard “Tick” Segerblom), article on workplace bullying, COMMUNIQUÉ, the official journal of the Clark County Bar Association, Las Vegas (5/11). Sen. Segerblom has proposed workplace anti-bullying legislation in Nevada.
For something completely different, read Ms. Barnes book on book dedications called Tender, Tawdry & Timeless Book Dedications (2015).
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