Stop Workplace Harassment
Workplace harassment is any unasked for behavior at work that no reasonable employee should have to endure.
But in order for workplace harassment to be illegal, it must be discriminatory with regard to race, color, religion, national origin, disability, genetics, age or sex. Regrettably, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the government agency responsible for enforcing Federal discrimination laws, does not include organizations with less than 15 employees collectively. Individual state laws may differ.
The harassing conduct must also generate an intimidating, distasteful, abusive or hostile work environment, either for the victim who is the target of the unwanted behavior or employees who observe it.
The victim or witnesses must reasonably believe that enduring the intimidating, disgusting, abusive or hostile work environment is a condition of continued employment; in other words, the victim or witnesses must reasonably believe that they have no option, but to endure the workplace harassment to keep their jobs.
According to the EEOC:
"Offensive conduct may include, but is not limited to, offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or name calling, physical assaults or threats, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs, offensive objects or pictures, and interference with work performance."
The EEOC details that the offensive deeds must be pervasive or serious enough, such that a reasonable employee would consider it to be intimidating, hostile or abusive. Slight annoyances and trifling insults aren't likely to constitute harassment at work according to the EEOC, at least not in the legal sense; neither are isolated incidents, unless extremely serious.
Even if each single event is not extremely serious, enough isolated occurrences might combine to be extremely serious when a court views them as a whole.
Although not part of the EEOC protected classes listed above, U.S. Bankruptcy Code 11 U.S.C. sec. 525(b) makes it illegal to discriminate against anyone during the hiring process or in the workplace due to bankruptcy filing, insolvency or failure to pay a debt. Some employers do background checks and will not hire a person who cannot pay their debts as they believe it creates a penchant for stealing from the company. That type of profiling is illegal, but it's difficult to prove without proof.
Take control of your job and let your antagonizers know you mean business. Click here to get free workplace harassment help.
Tags: disability harassment, employment law, gender harassment, legal, racial harassment, religious harassment, sexual harassment, work law, workplace harassment