what kind of attorney would handle workplace harassment

What Are The Requirements For A Hostile Work Environment Legal Action?

Courts use several requirements in determining whether or not a working environment is hostile, including: 1. The actions or behavior discriminate...

Can Strict Liability Apply to Hostile Work Environment Harassment?

Strict liability may apply in a hostile work environment case, if the perpetrator is high level, and abuses his power by behaving pervasively. Some...

What Is Sexual Harassment?

Legally, sexual harassment encompasses unwelcome sexual advances, sexual favor requests, and physical or verbal actions that are sexual in nature....

What Is Indirect Harassment?

Indirect harassment can occur anytime another individual is privy to or harmed by the harassment of another person. If a person takes offense to an...

What About Company Harassment Policies?

Companies typically have strict nondiscrimination policies in place to protect itself and its employees. However, if a company is aware of a harass...

Should I Contact A Hostile Work Environment Attorney For Harassment at Work?

No one should have to be subjected to a hostile work environment. If you were victimized at work, consult an employment law attorney immediately. A...

Can you sue your employer for harassment?

However, if you are in a situation where you have been subjected to offensive and unwelcome conduct that has affected the terms and conditions of your employment, you may be able to sue your employer for harassment for a hostile work environment.

What is hostile work environment?

In short, a hostile work environment is created when anyone in the workplace engages in a type of harassment that makes it impossible for an employee to perform their job duties. This type of harassment generally includes unwelcome comments or conduct based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnacy), national origin, age (40 or older), ...

Do employers have to pay punitive damages?

Additionally, in some rare cases, employers may have to pay punitive damages to the employee, if their employer intentionally engaged in conduct that created a hostile work environment.

What are compensatory damages?

These damages typically include claims for lost wages, including back pay and benefits, due to the inability to work. In cases where the hostile work environment caused you to lose your job, compensatory damages will be awarded to help put you back in the same place you would have been had you not lost your job.

Is bullying a form of discrimination?

This behavior almost always leads to a hostile work environment. Workplace bullying, when targeting a person’s protected class status, is a form of employment discrimination. It can sometimes be the result of retaliation from an employer and wrongful termination. Other times it is meant as pure intimidation.

What are some examples of bullying?

What are Some examples of Workplace Bullying? 1 You experience excessive name-calling due to your disability. 2 Your coworker makes targeted jokes towards all Asian employees. 3 Your boss uses profanity or excessively foul language even after you ask him to stop. As a female, you find the language offensive and derogatory towards women. 4 You are the only Muslim employee at work. Your supervisor isolates you intentionally from the group and social work outings. 5 You get fired from work because you complained about excessive name-calling.

How long does it take to file a bullying claim?

However, most workplace bullying claims can get filed with the EEOC. The EEOC requires you to file your claim within 180 days (300 days in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, and Florida). Discuss the tie limits to file your workplace bullying claim ...

Is bullying harmful to the environment?

Bullying in any environment is hurtful and unnecessary. It can create severe psychological damage as well as physical pain and anguish. If you are affected by workplace bullying, the Derek Smith Law Group’s dedicated discrimination attorneys can help.

Can bullying happen online?

Workplace bullying can occur anywhere you work or meet for work-related events. Many employees work remotely. Therefore, workplace bullying can occur online as a form of online sexual harassment and discrimination. If your employers, coworkers, managers, supervisors, or customers are bullying you online, contact an employment discrimination lawyer ...

What to do if you are harassed at work?

If you are worried about losing your job because of harassment, you should contact an employment lawyer immediately . Harassment can come from anyone in the workplace, including a boss, coworker, and even a non-employee (e.g., independent contractor or client). No one is immune from violating the laws.

What to do if you notify the harasser of harassment?

If you notify the harasser to stop the conduct and it is not stopped, you should submit an employer complaint about the harassment, or any other policy method that is available. The EEOC investigates allegations of sexual harassment.

Is harassment considered harassment?

It can also be considered harassment if the person is not the intended victim but is affected in any way by the offensive conduct. The conduct must be unwelcome to be considered harassment. The unwelcome conduct must also create an intimidating, offensive, abusive or hostile work environment, either for the victim who is the target ...

Is harassment based on race?

The conduct must be unwelcome to be considered harassment. The unwelcome conduct must also create an intimidating, offensive, abusive or hostile work environment, either for the victim who is the target of the unwelcome conduct or employees who witness it. However, to be the illegal form of workplace harassment, it must be based on race, color, ...

What is sex discrimination?

Sex discrimination includes harassment based on gender, pregnancy or childbirth, and in several states and Federal employment, on the basis of sexual orientation (sexual preference), marital status or parental status. Disability discrimination includes harassment for having AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome).

What is EEOC harassment?

The EEOC indicates that the offensive conduct must be pervasive or serious enough that a reasonable employee would consider it to be intimidating, hostile or abusive. Petty slights or annoyances aren’t likely to constitute legally actionable workplace harassment at work according to the EEOC.

What is unwelcome conduct?

The unwelcome conduct must also create an intimidating, offensive, abusive or hostile work environment, either for the victim who is the target of the unwelcome conduct or employees who witness it . However, to be the illegal form of workplace harassment, it must be based on race, color, religion, national origin, disability, genetics, age or sex.

What is harassment in law?

In the legal sense, harassment is an intentional behavior that is found disturbing or threatening.

What to do if you are a victim of harassment?

If you are a victim of telephone harassment, contact a harassment lawyer in your area to put an end to the aggressive party’s intrusive actions. You should contact harassment lawyers when an entity intends to annoy, harass or threaten you by: • If an entity or individual perpetually makes your telephone ring.

What to do if you feel harassed?

No individual should live in fear of harassment; there are steps to take to curb incessant obstructions like harassment. Consulting with a harassment lawyer is the first step ...

1 attorney answer

It seems like a civil restraining order, which any litigator could do, or you could do yourself, might stop the boyfriend's ex's behavior. some judges look for threats of physical violence, but some judges routinely grant these orders for any good cause, and this jealous and persistent behavior sounds like good cause...

Pamela Koslyn

It seems like a civil restraining order, which any litigator could do, or you could do yourself, might stop the boyfriend's ex's behavior. some judges look for threats of physical violence, but some judges routinely grant these orders for any good cause, and this jealous and persistent behavior sounds like good cause...

What is workplace harassment?

When workers are subjected to slurs, assaults, threats, ridicule, offensive jokes, unwelcome sexual advances, or verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, it can be considered workplace harassment. Similar to workplace discrimination, workplace harassment creates a hostile and abusive work environment.

Is it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant?

It is illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or age. However, some employers do just that, leading to a hostile and inequitable workplace where some workers are treated more favorably than others.

What is wrongful termination?

This is termed wrongful termination, wrongful discharge, or wrongful dismissal. There are many scenarios that may be grounds for a wrongful termination lawsuit, including: Firing an employee out of retaliation. Discrimination.

What happens if you are fired without cause?

If you believe you may have been fired without proper cause, our labor and employment attorneys may be able to help you recover back pay, unpaid wages, and other forms of compensation.

Do independent contractors have to file taxes?

Independent contractors are not entitled to employee benefits, and must file and withhold their own taxes, as well. However, in recent years, some employers have abused classification by misclassifying bonafide employees as contractors in an attempt to save money and circumvent laws.

What are some examples of misclassifications?

Some examples of misclassifications include: Misclassifying a worker as an independent contractor to not have to comply with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission laws, which prevent employment discrimination.

What is defamation in the workplace?

Defamation is generally defined as the act of damaging the reputation of a person through slanderous (spoken) or libelous (written) comments. When defamation occurs in the workplace, it has the potential to harm team morale, create alienation, or even cause long-term damage to a worker’s career prospects.

What is employer retaliation?

To protect employees who want to file a lawsuit or complaint against their employer, state and federal labor laws prohibit employers from engaging in retaliatory behavior. If an employee files a lawsuit or complaint for racial discrimination in the workplace, employers are prohibited, by law, from terminating, demoting, ...

What is the federal law that prohibits discrimination?

Employment and labor laws prohibit discriminatory or unfair treatment of an applicant or employee based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or parental status. Federal law forbids “discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.”

When did employers have to pay equal pay?

Under the Equal Pay Act of 1963, employers are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of an employee’s gender or sex in the payment of wages. It is illegal for employees of different sexes, with the same skills and experience, to be denied equal compensation for performing substantially equal work in the same establishment.

What are some examples of gender discrimination?

Some other examples of gender or sex discrimination include: Hiring (e.g., an applicant, with excellent credentials and qualifications is denied employment on the basis of sex) Firing (e.g., a female employee is let go due to “cutbacks,” while a male employee with less seniority remains employed)

What is the age discrimination in employment act?

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects employees over the age of 40 from discrimination in the workplace. Under the Act, employers are prohibited from: Offering different compensation, terms, or conditions of employment due to someone's age.

What is disability discrimination?

Titles I and V of the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits employment discrimination of qualified individuals due to a disability. This applies to both private and government positions.

What is the discrimination act?

The Act prohibits harassment or other discrimination based on: Affiliation (affiliating with a particular religious group) Physical or Cultural Traits (e.g. , accent, language, or dress related to the religion) Perception (the mere belief an employee or potential employee is a member of a particular religious group)

What is discriminatory harassment?

1. Discriminatory Harassment. All unlawful workplace harassment is discriminatory in nature. But, unlike verbal or physical harassment, discriminatory harassment is defined by its intentions instead of how it’s carried out.

What is power harassment?

Power harassment is a common form of workplace harassment that’s characterized by a power disparity between the harasser and the harassed. The harasser exercises their power by bullying a victim who is lower on the office hierarchy. In many cases, the harasser is a supervisor or manager who victimizes their subordinates.

What is workplace violence?

Physical Harassment. Physical harassment, also often called workplace violence, refers to a type of workplace harassment that involves physical attacks or threats.

Which industries are at higher risk for workplace violence?

These include healthcare workers, peace officers, social services employees, teachers and educators, retail staff and public transit drivers.

Why do people experience racial harassment?

Racial Harassment. A victim may experience racial harassment because of their race, skin color, ancestry, origin country or citizenship. Even perceived attributes of a certain ethnicity (curly hair, accents, customs, beliefs or clothing) may be the cause. Racial harassment often looks like:

What is gender based harassment?

Gender-based harassment is discriminatory behavior towards a person based on their gender. Negative gender stereotypes about how men and women should or do act are often the center of the harassment. Some examples are: A male nurse faces harassment for having what is perceived as a woman’s job.

What are some examples of gender stereotypes?

Some examples are: A male nurse faces harassment for having what is perceived as a woman’s job. A female banker hits the glass ceiling and taunted for not being “leader material”.