Harassment
As previously discussed, employers are prohibited not only from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, gender, gender identity, disability, or religion, but also from harassing them for those reasons. This protection applies not only to employers, but also to managers and co-workers. If your work environment feels hostile, offensive, or oppressive due to your race, gender, gender identity, disability, or religion, you may be experiencing workplace harassment.
To bring a successful legal claim for workplace harassment, the conduct must be severe or pervasive. A single offensive comment or incident is generally not sufficient to establish a claim. Harassment can take physical or verbal forms. For example, inappropriate jokes, slurs, insults about appearance, or unwelcome physical contact may all qualify as harassment.
Unlike discrimination claims, which require the employee to prove they suffered a specific adverse employment action as a result of discrimination, harassment claims do not require proof of tangible harm. It is enough to show that the harassment occurred.
When Employers Fail to Prevent Discrimination or Harassment
If an employee is harassed, discriminated against, or retaliated against by another employee, they may file a claim against the employer. This is because employers have a legal duty to prevent and address such conduct once they become aware of it. Employers are also required to take appropriate steps to ensure similar conduct does not happen again in the future.
To proceed with a legal claim, the employee must prove that the employer failed to take appropriate action. Specifically, the employee must show the following:
- They were subjected to discrimination, harassment, or retaliation and suffered harm as a result.
- The employer knew or reasonably should have known about the misconduct.
- The employer failed to take any corrective action, or the actions taken were inadequate.
JUSTICE FOR WORKERS, P.C. is a law firm dedicated exclusively to representing plaintiffs, that is, workers, in matters related to labor law and workplace injuries. For a free consultation, please contact us at (323) 922-2000. We have offices located in both Los Angeles and Orange County. If we take on your case, you will not be required to pay us anything unless and until we secure compensation on your behalf.
