text: how much verbal abuse from your boss is legal in the state of utah? i work as an engineer, i’m wondering how much verbal abuse, professional disrespect, and belittlement is legal in the state of utah.  i am a hard worker with a great work ethic, and work well with everyone.  i work an average of 9 hrs a day, sometimes much more, and have always tried to please my manager but with little success.  he is a former co-worker/peer with no people skills, recently promoted as manager for my discipline via his experience within the last year.  he micromanages my every move, treats me like a slacker, is a fault finder, and belittles me nearly, but not every, day.  when he does this i always remain calm, professional, and maintain my composure, even when he yells at the top of his lungs at me.  i always swallow my pride, because i love my work and have respect for my paycheck.  he will not ever let me explain my side of things.  he is the type that seeks to be understood before he seeks to understand.   anybody know what i can do without quitting? as we say in hr - there is nothing illegal about being an a**hole.  as long as his verbal abuse is not motivated based on a protected reason (age, sex, race, etc) there is nothing technically "illegal" about it.  that doesn't make it right.  i'd suggest talking to your hr department, if you want to go that route.  you're likely to stir up some bru-ha-ha. document times, dates, and content of the inappropriate interactions he has with you, because you will be asked to articulate your complaint.  "my boss is mean to me" isn't going to cut it.  other than that, about the only thing you can do is look for another job or post to another postion internally.  you can quit and try for ui, which under the circumstance you might or might not get.  again, they also usually like to see that you tried to solve the problem with in the company before up and quitting.