Quote: "So my question really is: Are there laws dealing with an employee expected to complete an impossible amount of work, told there is no overtime, and treated uncivilly and in a way that causes them feel like their employment is threatened? In order words, are there laws preventing an employer from indirectly, and perhaps unknowingly, creating an environment that pressures an employee to work off the clock out of fear of termination? If I am fired, can I claim this as a means to collect unemployment? I realize what I'm asking is very subjective and relative to my particular situation. I realize that the things I'm talking about would be difficult to prove, but is it at all possible?"
I answered everything you asked in the first sentence of my reply. The rest you can get over, but you got on a rant. You are emotionally over involved in your job, which is after all, just a job. Get over it. NO there are no defenses, protections at law, etc.
If you are fired, you can file for unemployment. They will determine if your employer had a valid misconduct reason to terminate you. Being treated poorly, having all these issues, going into all this schlock about your emotional issues on the job, will get you nowhere. Did you violate a defined, clearly articulated policy of the employer and were terminated for it? Were you given opportunities to change your behavior and keep your job? That's what unemployment, which IS your only recourse in this situation will be interested in. In many years of listening, I have heard many people who have a similar experience to yours. Move on.

