What Legally Constitutes A Hostile Work Environment?
By Corey Hanrahan
What legally constitutes a hostile work environment? A hostile work environment is when unlawful harassment, due to its severity or pervasiveness, unreasonably interfering with your work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.
“…the unlawful harassment must be directed at you based on one of the protected characteristics under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (e.g., age, race, sex, gender, national origin, medical conditions, physical disability, etc.)…“
In order to legally constitute a hostile work environment, though, the unlawful harassment must be directed at you based on one of the protected characteristics under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (e.g., age, race, sex, gender, national origin, medical conditions, physical disability, etc.). If the conduct/harassment is not based on one of those protected characteristics, it is not legally considered a hostile work environment, and you may not be able to sue for it.
It is worth noting, though, that with a hostile work environment claim, there is no requirement that you suffer a loss of tangible job benefits or actual injury to state a claim. But, in the absence of a tangible job benefit loss, you may be held to a higher showing that the harassing conduct was pervasive and destructive of the working environment.
Employers have legal teams on their side to protect them, not you. You need to level the playing field by making sure you have an experienced sexual harassment attorney on your side. If you have been subjected to sexual harassment, contact The Hanrahan Firm today for a free consultation.
