A hostile work environment is a legal claim under federal anti-discrimination laws. What it means is that an employee has been subjected to severe or pervasive harassment at work that has affected a term or condition in their employment.
You break that down by saying, basically, this can’t just be rude or obnoxious behavior at work. It has to be severe or pervasive harassment that the employee is being subjected to that’s based upon their race, or their gender, or their religion, or some other protected characteristic. It can’t just be a pattern of rude behavior, generally. It needs to be because this person is a woman or because this person is African-American that they are being harassed at work, and this harassment affects their ability to do their job.
Bachman writes frequently on employment discrimination issues at the Glass Ceiling Discrimination Blog and has been quoted in national media about discrimination cases. U.S. News and Best Lawyers® have named Zuckerman Law a Tier 1 firm in Litigation – Labor and Employment in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Contact us today to find out how we can help you.
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