Harassment

As previously discussed, employers are prohibited not only from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, gender, gender identity, disability, religion, or other protected characteristics, but also from harassing them on such grounds. This obligation 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 unlawful workplace harassment.

To file a legal claim for harassment, the conduct must be severe or pervasive. A single offensive remark is generally not sufficient to establish a harassment claim. Harassment may take both physical and verbal forms, such as inappropriate jokes, slurs, derogatory comments about appearance, or unwelcome physical contact.

Unlike discrimination claims, which require proof that the employee suffered a specific adverse employment action (such as termination or demotion), a harassment claim does not require such proof. The mere fact that the harassment occurred may be enough to support a claim.

When Employers Fail to Prevent Discrimination or Harassment

If an employee is subjected to discrimination, harassment, or retaliation by a co-worker or supervisor, the employee may have grounds to file a claim against the employer. This is because employers have a legal duty to prevent and correct such conduct once they are aware of it. Furthermore, they are obligated to take reasonable steps to ensure that such conduct does not occur again in the future.

To succeed in a legal claim, the employee must prove that the employer failed to meet this duty. In other words, the employee must show that the employer knew or should have known about the misconduct and failed to take appropriate corrective action. Specifically, the employee must demonstrate the following:

1.They were subjected to discrimination, harassment, or retaliation and suffered harm as a result.

2.The employer knew or should reasonably have known about the misconduct.

3.The employer failed to take adequate steps to prevent or correct the situation.