What is a Hostile Work Environment?

Employees in South Florida workplaces are protected against various forms of discrimination under Florida state and federal laws. Discrimination laws, including the Florida Civil Rights Act (FCRA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Harassment is one type of employment discrimination that can violate these laws, and there are various forms of harassment that are unlawful. One type of unlawful harassment is harassment that creates a hostile work environment, also known as “hostile work environment harassment.”

What is a hostile work environment? And how can you determine if you are working in one? Our experienced Palm Beach Gardens harassment lawyers can explain in detail, and we can talk with you today to learn about your workplace experience and to help you file a claim if you are currently experiencing hostile work environment harassment.

Defining Unlawful Harassment and the Hostile Work Environment

In order to understand what kind of situations can create a hostile work environment as the law defines it, it is essential to begin with a clear understanding of unlawful harassment more broadly. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission explains that harassment is defined as “unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, or pregnancy), national origin, older age (beginning at age 40), disability, or genetic information (including family medical history).”

As the EEOC clarifies, unlawful harassment can occur in one of two types of circumstances: either where “enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment,” or where “the conduct is so severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive.”

When Does a Toxic Work Environment Become an Unlawful Hostile Work Environment? 

One of the questions employees often have is whether a toxic work environment as they understand it is the same as an unlawful hostile work environment. The answer is that a perceived toxic work environment can be a hostile work environment, but a toxic work environment will not always rise to the level of an unlawful hostile work environment for purposes of filing a harassment claim.

First, to be unlawful, the harassment that is occurring must be based on a protected identity characteristic or membership in a protected identity group. In other words, the harassment must involve written or oral comments, physical behavior, or displaying of physical objects that constitute discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, older age, disability, or genetic information.

Then, that behavior (language, behavior, or visual displays) must be so severe that the work environment would be considered “intimidating, hostile, or offensive to reasonable people,” according to the EEOC. A single incident usually will not create a hostile work environment unless it is so severe that it alters the atmosphere of the workplace. Usually, a hostile work environment occurs because of a pattern of discriminatory language or behavior over time.

Contact a Palm Beach Gardens Harassment Attorney 

If your work environment feels toxic and unbearable, and if you believe it may be an unlawful hostile work environment, you should get in touch with an experienced Palm Beach Gardens harassment lawyer at Sconzo Law Office as soon as possible to discuss the details. We can help you to file a claim if you are eligible.

Source:

eeoc.gov/harassment