Filing a Discrimination Claim When Another Employee is Targeted
Employment discrimination can take many different forms in South Florida workplaces, and it can occur in hiring processes, promotion plans, and in decision-making concerning employment terminations or layoffs. Many forms of discrimination are unlawful under federal and state law, in particular forms of discrimination that involve treating job applicants or employees in a less favorable way than other job applicants or employees because of a protected identity characteristic. Common examples of unlawful employment discrimination include discrimination include discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, gender, pregnancy, national origin, ethnicity, age, and disability.
Job applicants and employees should know that they may be eligible to file an employment discrimination claim under a relevant federal law or under the Florida Civil Rights Act (FCRA) when they are the target of an unlawful form of discrimination. But there are also many circumstances in workplaces where other employees witness unlawful discrimination and are affected by it due to the atmosphere it creates in the workplace. Is it possible for another employee to file a claim in these types of situations? In some circumstances involving harassment, it may be possible for an affected — but not directly targeted — employee to file a lawsuit.
Understanding Harassment and Employment Discrimination
Federal and state law prohibit harassment as a form of employment discrimination when the harassment occurs because of a job applicant’s or employee’s membership in a protected group. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which handles harassment claims arising under federal law, that “harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, older age, disability, or genetic information.” The EEOC clarifies that harassment becomes unlawful when either “enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment,” or when “the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive.”
In short, a hostile work environment exists if a reasonable person would consider the work environment to be “intimidating, hostile, or offensive to reasonable people.” It is important to understand, as the EEOC explains, that “petty slights, annoyances, and isolated incidents (unless extremely serious) will not rise to the level of illegality.” Yet when behavior in the workplace does create a hostile work environment, it may be possible for the targeted employee as well as other employees who are impacted to file a claim.
Who Can File a Claim and Who Can Be Responsible
When harassment results in a hostile work environment, many if not all of the other employees in the workplace can be impacted. Accordingly, if the intimidating, hostile, or offensive conduct has an impact on your ability to perform your work, then you may be eligible to file a harassment claim.
You should also know that employers and supervisors, as well as co-workers and other parties, can engage in the intimidating, hostile, or offensive conduct that results in a hostile work environment. If the employer or a supervisor is responsible for the conduct, then they can be liable. An employer may also be liable if they knew about the conduct (even if another employee, or a client or customer, was responsible) and did not take steps to stop it.
Contact a Palm Beach Gardens Employment Discrimination and Harassment Lawyer
If you have any questions about filing a harassment claim or another type of employment discrimination complaint, an experienced Palm Beach Gardens harassment attorney at Sconzo Law Office can help. Contact us today for assistance.
Source:
eeoc.gov/how-file-charge-employment-discrimination
