The Effects of Sexual Harassment at Work

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If you are facing sexual harassment at work, you know it’s about more than just an unwanted word or gesture. Sexual harassment causes all kinds of harmful effects that can damage your health, well-being, and career. Even if you aren’t directly the victim, the hostile workplace created by sexual harassment can have long-lasting effects.

In this blog post, I will discuss the emotional, physical, financial, and systemic effects of sexual harassment at work. I will explain how sexual harassment affects more than just the targeted employee. I will also explain how connecting with an employment discrimination attorney early can help curb the effects of workplace discrimination.

What Counts as Sexual Harassment?

Federal civil rights laws prohibit employers from harassing a person because of that person’s sex. Sexual harassment can include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, lewd jokes, sexual touching, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. It also includes offensive remarks including stereotypes about a person’s sex in general.

To be enough to support a federal lawsuit, sexual harassment must result in an adverse employment decision. This can include being fired, or not hired, being passed over for promotion, receiving lower wages, or being assigned to worse shifts or duties than your coworkers. If there has been no adverse employment decision, then the pattern of sexual harassment must be so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile work environment.

Even before these standards are met, sexual harassment can have substantial effects on its victims and bystanders who witness the discrimination. If you are facing sexual harassment, here are some effects you can expect to see.

Emotional Effects of Sexual Harassment

According to the women’s law center, Equal Rights Advocates, 90 – 95% of sexually harassed women suffer from some form of debilitating stress reaction. This can include anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, lowered self-esteem, and sexual dysfunction. Some severe cases have even been tied to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

These emotional effects of sexual harassment can begin long before there is an actionable sexual harassment claim. Often, these emotional harms put pressure on employees to “play along” with workplace harassment. If they can’t, then the employees may choose to transfer positions or quit all together.

Physical Effects of Sexual Harassment

Often, the stressful toll of sexual harassment can have physical manifestations as well. The victims of sexual harassment often report weight loss or weight gain, loss of appetite, headaches, and nausea. When the physical effects of sexual harassment manifest in a workplace, it can cause a serious loss of productivity.

Financial Effects of Sexual Harassment

The victim of sexual harassment often has to take sick time or unpaid leave to manage the effects of the discriminatory behaviors, leaving more work to be done by other team members. When conditions fail to improve, the victims may be forced to make the difficult decision to quit. In other cases, the harasser makes the choice for them, firing the employee for failing to meet sexual expectations.

These losses add up. In one person’s life, the loss of employment, particularly if he or she is fired, can cause a cascade of financial problems that continue for years. An unfavorable termination may make it difficult for the sexual harassment victim to find job references or replacement employment.

Systemic Effects of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment doesn’t just hurt the person targeted for discrimination. Men and women alike can find their work affected by sexual harassment in the workplace. High turnover rates can put pressure on remaining employees to fill the gaps. Hostile workplaces can also be demoralizing on everyone, even bystanders who don’t share the person’s sexual identity.

Even beyond any given employer, the prevalence of sexual harassment against women, in particular, has a cumulative effect of preventing women from asserting themselves in the workplace and at the negotiating table. Those who identify with targeted classes, like women, gay, lesbian, and transgender employees, are less likely as a whole to go for a big promotion or seek a merit-based raise.

How a Sex Discrimination Attorney Can Help

When sexual harassment disrupts your workplace, it can feel like there is no where to turn. However, the experienced sex discrimination attorneys at Eisenberg & Baum, LLP, have strategies to fight back against sexual harassment. We can help you at several steps along the way:

  • Identify internal processes, including union complaints, that could remove the harasser or change company policy.
  • File a sexual harassment complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
  • File a state or federal lawsuit for sex discrimination.

Using these steps, a sex discrimination attorney can help you recover from the effects of sexual harassment. Different levels of the process may entitle you to damages for lost wages, physical harm including medical expenses, emotional harm including distress, and financial losses. You may even be compensated for costs associated with finding a new job.

By getting a sexual harassment attorney involved early, you may be able to save your job and your health at the same time. We are often able to negotiate with an employer before filing a complaint to get the changes you need at work.

It all starts with a confidential consultation. By meeting with our sexual harassment attorneys, you can get help to fight against sexual harassment at your job. If you feel like your employer has created a hostile workplace, contact us. We’ll help create a strategy to file a sexual harassment complaint and get you the relief you need.

Who Can Sue for Sexual Harassment?

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If your workplace is laced with sexual tension or you are being singled out because of your gender, you may feel like the only way out is through the courts. But sometimes it can be hard to tell if you would be eligible to file a private civil rights lawsuit. You may be wondering just who can sue for sexual harassment.

In this blog post I will review the sexual harassment and sex discrimination portions of Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act. I will also look at how these federal laws protect various possible plaintiffs. Finally, I will compare the remedies of filing a private or class action lawsuit and lodging an EEOC complaint.

What Counts as Illegal Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment is prohibited by state and federal law. Under Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act, it is unlawful for an employer to harass you because of your sex. “Sexual harassment” is a form of gender discrimination that can include unwelcome sexual advances or touching, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment that is sexual in nature.

Harassment can also include offensive remarks about a person’s sex or gender expression. This is true even if the comments do not directly target the employee. For example, if a supervisor regularly makes comments about how “you can’t trust men,” or “women are never good at math,” that could be a form of sexual harassment.

Not every passing comment will rise to the level of a sexual harassment lawsuit, though. To be eligible to file a complaint your employer must have:

  • Based an employment decision on a person’s sex (this includes hiring, firing, promotion, wages, tasks or shift assignments), or
  • Allowed a pattern of offensive behavior so frequent or severe it creates a hostile work environment.

When teasing crosses the line into actionable harassment under the federal law may depend on your workplace and the normal demeanor of employees. The standard for a hostile work environment may be different in an office setting than on a construction site. Courts will look at whether a reasonable person would have been offended in a similar situation.

Can I Sue for Sexual Harassment If I Am a Man?

Anyone can file a lawsuit for sexual harassment, regardless of gender. Men and women both face harassment in the workplace, though sometimes it looks different depending on the sex stereotypes involved. For example, a man may be able to file a civil rights action if his employer regularly tells him to “man up” or refuses to assign him to tasks that “take a woman’s touch.”

Can I Sue if I Am the Same Sex as My Harasser?

Many people believe that a woman cannot be sexually harassed by a woman or a man by a man. That’s not true. It doesn’t matter who is performing the sexual harassment – man or woman – as long as the harassment is based on your sex. Similarly, you can sue for patterns of behavior by superiors, staff, coworkers, and even customers, depending on how your employer responds to complaints.

Can I Sue if I Am Gay?

Gay and lesbian employees face special challenges in the workplace. Until recently, there was no federal protection for sexual orientation discrimination. However, in recent years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has begun to interpret Title VII to protect against sexual harassment based on sexual orientation. While some courts have refused to follow that interpretation, others are now willing to enforce Title VII’s prohibition against sexual harassment for the benefit of the LGBT community.

Can I Sue if I Am Trans*?

Gender identity issues and the inherent difference transgender people experience from sex stereotypes can often result in sexual harassment in the workplace. The U.S. Supreme Court and several federal courts have come to the defense of transgender employees, ruling that sexual harassment based on gender identity or gender expression are illegal under Title VII.

Can I Sue if I Am Paid Under the Table?

Undocumented workers and other cash employees can often feel trapped in a job that involves sexual harassment. Their employers may threaten to report them to the INS or the IRS if they file sexual harassment or discrimination complaints. While there are some risks involved, under the table employees are entitled to protection against sexual harassment and hostility in the workplace.

Getting Relief Through the EEOC Complaint or a Private Lawsuit

When sexual harassment happens, you have options in how to fight it. An employment discrimination attorney can help each step of the way, from filing a complaint with the EEOC or pursuing a private individual or class-action lawsuit.

Usually, a person who has a sexual harassment complaint will need to go through the EEOC administrative complaint process first, before filing a private lawsuit in federal court under the federal law. However, exceptions do exist. Your employee rights lawyer will help you decide whether any of those exceptions apply to you. Otherwise, an EEOC counselor will investigate your claim and attempt to negotiate a solution to your complaint. If you raised a valid complaint, but the EEOC cannot resolve it, it will issue a “right to sue” letter. At that point, your case can go in two directions:

EEOC Litigation

In some cases, the EEOC will elect to conduct litigation directly to get relief for the victims of sexual harassment and sex discrimination. This can result policy changes and monetary relief. But the agency’s resources are limited, and there are many valid sexual harassment complaints that they cannot represent.

Private Sexual Harassment Lawsuits

If the EEOC doesn’t take your case, or if you would prefer to have more control over your litigation, you can also file a private lawsuit, individually or on behalf of a class of people like you. If your lawsuit is successful, you will have access to several remedies:

  • Reinstatement to your job or an equivalent position;
  • Policy and training changes;
  • Back pay (times 3) for money you lost because of the discrimination;
  • Fringe benefits lost;
  • Emotional distress damages; and
  • Attorney fees and court costs.

Get Help Filing Your Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

A lack of resources should never prevent you from getting protection from sexual harassment. No matter who you are, our employment discrimination attorneys are here to help. If you feel like your employer is making your office or job site a hostile workplace, contact us. We’ll meet with you and help create a strategy to file a sexual harassment complaint and get you the relief you need.

The Bojangles Lawsuit: Sexual Harassment of a Transgender Employee

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If you are one of the nearly 1.4 million Americans who identify as transgender or transsexual, finding and maintaining employment can be challenging. Many LGBT employees are afraid to come out at work. They are worried that their employers will fire them, discriminate against them, or make their workplace a hostile, and even dangerous, place to be. When that happens, it may be hard to know where to turn for protection against sexual harassment of a transgender employee.

In this blog post, I will review EEOC v. Bojangles, a lawsuit recently filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a transgender employee. I will explain sex discrimination protections that are available to Trans* individuals. I will also review the cases that protect against discrimination based on sexual stereotypes.

The EEOC & Sexual Harassment of Trans* Employees

The EEOC interprets Title VII of the United States Civil Rights Act to protect transgender employees. Title VII does not explicitly state protection based on sexual orientation or gender identity, but the EEOC has read the law’s prohibitions against sex discrimination to apply regardless of gender expression. That includes protections against sexual harassment and retaliation against members of the Trans community.

Protection Against Sex Discrimination

If an employee, including a transsexual employee, has been discriminated against by an employer, he or she is entitled to protection and compensation. Employers are not allowed to treat a person unfavorably because of that person’s sex (including the failure to meet gender stereotypes). A worker may not be fired, passed over for a job or promotion, paid differently, or denied access to training or benefits on the basis of sex. All of this amounts to sex discrimination and is illegal under Title VII.

The law also protects against sexual harassment, including offensive remarks about a person’s sex, as long as they are severe enough to create a hostile work environment or result in an adverse employment decision. In addition, the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in retaliation for filing a sex discrimination complaint, whether internally or through the EEOC.

EEOC v. Bojangles Restaurants, Inc.

Earlier this year, the EEOC took a stand against transgender sexual harassment by filing a lawsuit against Bojangles Restaurant Inc., in North Carolina. The complaint alleged that the restaurant violated federal law by subjecting a transgender employee to a hostile work environment and retaliating against her when she reported the sexual harassment.

The employee, whose legal name was Jonathan Wolfe, was a transgender woman working in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Wolfe identifies and presents as a woman. While on the job, Wolfe’s employers demanded that she act and dress in ways that are stereotypically male, based on the sex she was assigned at birth. Wolfe reported her manager and assistant managers’ belittling comments on at least two occasions, without results. Wolfe was then fired in retaliation shortly after filing her last complaint.

The EEOC has taken the position that Bojangles’s demands and firing were sex discrimination and sexual harassment in violation of Title VII. After trying to reach an out-of-court resolution, the agency has sued the company for back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages. In a statement, Lynette Barns, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District said:

“All employees have the right to work in an environment free from sexual harassment and gender stereotypes. . . . Federal law provides transgender employees protection from sex discrimination in the workplace.”

Courts Agree: Transgender Workers Are Protected

The United States Supreme Court has held that employment discrimination based on sex stereotypes is prohibited by Title VII. In 1989, the court decided Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228 (1989). There, an employee was passed over for promotion because her employer felt she needed to walk, talk, and dress more femininely. The court said that Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination includes the “entire spectrum of disparate treatment of men and women resulting from sex stereotypes.” (quoting City of Los Angeles Dep’t of Water & Power v. Manhart, 435 U.S. 702, 707 n.13 (1978) (internal citation omitted)).

A decade later, in 1998, the Supreme Court decided Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, 523 U.S. 75 (1998). That case, involving a lesbian employee, said that Title VII’s protections “must extend to [sex-based] discrimination of any kind that meets the statutory requirements.”

This includes when transgender workers are treated differently or sanctioned because they do not present according to their employer’s gender-based expectations. While the Supreme Court has never ruled specifically on a gender identity discrimination case, several lower courts have supported the EEOC’s interpretation of Title VII. They have found that several issues specific to the Trans* community are covered by the Civil Rights Act. For example:

  • In GG. ex rel Grimm v. Gloucester, __ F.3d __, 2016 WL 1567467 (4th Cir. Apr. 19, 2016), a U.S. Court of Appeals held that schools must provide students access to restrooms according to their gender identity.
  • In Glenn v. Brumby, 663 F.3d 1312 (11th Cir. 2011), a circuit court said that a person is considered transgender “precisely because of the perception that his or her behavior transgresses gender stereotypes.”
  • In Smith v. City of Salem, 378 F.3d 566 (6th Cir. 2004), a circuit court found sex discrimination when an employee was suspended based on her feminine appearance during her transition from male to female.
  • In Barnes v. City of Cincinnati, 401 F.3d 729 (6th Cir. 2005), the court ruled that sex discrimination occurred when a person presenting as male on duty, but living as a woman off duty was demoted based on a reputation as a “cross-dresser” and gender expression.

Get Help Defending Against Transgender Sex Discrimination

There is growing legal support for the position that a transgender person has the right to be free from sexual harassment based on his or her gender identity or expression. If your workplace has turned hostile because you do not fit traditional gender norms, the employment discrimination attorneys at Eisenberg & Baum can help. We have been fighting against employers who mistreat their employees for years, and we are committed to making our office a safe space for you and your loved ones. If you feel like your employer is using your gender identity against you, contact us. We’ll meet with you and help create a strategy that protects you and your rights.

Are There Jobs Just for Men?

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Women searching for new jobs in male-dominated industries often feel like they are facing an uphill climb. They may face stereotypes and discrimination even before they sit down for an interview. But are there jobs out there that are actually “just for men”? Is there ever a time a woman can be turned down just because of her gender?

In this blog post, I will discuss the standards for sex discrimination in hiring and promotion set by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). I will also review a recent federal court decision about sex discrimination in the male-dominated field of trash collection. Readers will learn the signs of sex discrimination, as well as a few industries where gender really does matter.

Sex Based Discrimination and Civil Rights Laws

Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on sex or gender. That means it is against federal law for employers to base any aspect of employment – like hiring, firing, pay, job responsibilities, or promotion – on a person’s sex. When an employer takes sex or gender into account during the hiring process, the would-be employee can file a complaint with the EEOC or file a lawsuit to get their job back.

There is nothing to say that only women can be discriminated against based on their sex. However, there are still many industries that are seen as “just for men.” In those sections of the job market, it may take a federal investigation to make an employer consider a female candidate.

Even Trash Collection Jobs Are Not Just for Men

Recently, a federal judge ruled in favor of the EEOC on a sex discrimination case against a staffing agency that wasn’t offering women jobs as trash collectors. In October 2015, the EEOC sued Workplace Staffing Solutions, LLC, a Louisiana company operating out of Gulfport Mississippi, for sex discrimination. According to the EEOC’s complaint, the staffing agency failed to hire 6 women as temporary trashcan collectors because of their gender. One qualified female applicant, Jonika Walton, was told by a company representative that the position was a “male-only” job. Others were told “industrial jobs” were “usually for men” and that the trashcan collector position was “more of a job for a guy.”

The company failed to respond to the EEOC’s allegations, so U.S. District Court Judge Louis Guirola, Jr., ordered the staffing agency to pay $179,000 in money damages, including compensatory damages, back pay, and punitive damages. EEOC’s regional attorney C. Emanuel Smith, from the Birmingham District Office, said in a statement:

Sex discrimination continues to be a barrier for women seeking employment. . . . EEOC believes this is a significant problem for women who seek temporary employment through some staffing agencies. The law demands that women receive equal employment opportunities. Employers are not allowed to presume that women would not be interested in performing certain types of jobs. EEOC stands ready to stop these violations in court, if necessary.

Man-Only Jobs Do Exist, But Rarely

While employers are not generally allowed to use sex as a deciding factor for employment, there are some positions where a person’s sex does make a difference in his or her ability to do the work. When that’s the case, an employer is allowed to limit employment to a particular gender based on a “bona fide occupational qualification.” Here are some examples:

  • Entertainment Industry: Some roles are written specifically for male actors, comedians, dancers, or singers. If a model is hired to sell men’s clothing, or an actor is employed to represent a historical figure, that person’s sex is relevant.
  • Bathroom/Locker Room Attendants: Some establishments staff their bathrooms and locker rooms. Particularly given the recent uproar about gender-specific restrooms, these attendants need to share a gender with their patrons.
  • Corrections Officers: For safety reasons, jails and prisons often make sure their corrections officers are the same sex as the inmates they observe. This can lead to gender-specific hiring opportunities, even by the federal government.
  • Religious Officials: Several religions limit the gender of their officials based on their sincerely held religious beliefs. They are allowed to do so because of the Constitution’s limits on the regulation of a religious organization.

However, while male-only jobs do exist, they are not nearly as common as most people think. In recent years, even the military has come to accept the fact that some women will be qualified for the most intense combat positions. Men still dominate some industries, including everything from firefighters to tech development companies. But most of those industries don’t objectively require employees to be one sex or another.

Fighting Back Against Gender Discrimination

If you have been turned down for a “male-only” job, chances are it wasn’t one with a “bona fide occupational qualification” based on gender. The employment discrimination attorneys at Eisenberg & Baum, LLP, are here to help. We will go through your case with you and help you file an EEOC complaint or lawsuit in state or federal court. Contact us to schedule a consultation and find out if your rejection letter is the start of a sex discrimination claim.

“I’m being bullied at work and want to quit!”

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When you are bullied at work it can make you and your coworkers miserable. It can feel like there is nowhere to go to help, or nothing you can do. You may feel like you have no option but to quit. The truth is that the solutions to bullying can be complex and depend on your individual employment situation.

In this blog post, I will explore internal options, federal agency complaints, and legal remedies you may have to address bullying. I will discuss how your union, employment contract, and internal policies may provide you a solution, even when a direct discrimination lawsuit doesn’t apply.

When is Workplace Behavior Bullying?

There is no federal legal definition of bullying. Under the New York City Human Rights Law, “cyberbullying” means “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices that is intended to frighten, harass, cause harm to, extort, or otherwise target another.” More generally, bullying is a power-based pattern of threatening, humiliating, or intimidating behavior designed to control the targeted employee. It may include:

  • Insulting or humiliating remarks;
  • Being shouted at or called out;
  • Practical jokes;
  • Exclusion or social isolation;
  • Physical threats or intimidation;
  • Micro-management;
  • Setting unreasonable goals;
  • Interfering with training or promotion;
  • Cutting off responsibilities; or
  • Violating a person’s space or personal belongings.

In the workplace, bully is most often done by people in leadership positions: bosses, supervisors, managers, or team leaders. While the majority of bullies are men, the number of women who bully is on the rise.

The Effect of Bullying at Work

No matter the form, bullying is abusive. It can cause serious health problems for targeted employees, including anxiety, headaches, and other stress symptoms. In the workplace, this can lead to absenteeism and loss of productivity on the job. If bullying goes unaddressed, many victims of bullying will contemplate leaving or find other work.

Is Bullying Illegal?

Bullying is not categorically illegal at the national level. There is no federal law prohibiting workplace bullying across the board. (However, cyberbullying and other forms of workplace harassment are prohibited under the New York City Human Rights Law.)

Even so, many times, the bullying that happens in a workplace will qualify as harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If the motive behind the bully’s behavior is discrimination against a protected class, the conduct may be illegal. Bullying won’t become illegal discrimination unless it is based on:

  • Race or color;
  • Religion;
  • Sex or gender;
  • National origin;
  • Age;
  • Disability;
  • Retaliation for speaking out against any of the above.

Even then, the bullying must have resulted in an adverse employment action or be severe and frequent enough to create a hostile work environment before it violates the U.S. Civil Rights Act or other anti-discrimination statutes.

Do I Need to Quit to Escape the Bully?

If bullying is not illegal on the federal level, does that mean you need to quit to be free from harassment? Not necessarily. However, it does mean that many anti-bullying protections are voluntary and can change depending on your employer. Before hitting the job boards, make sure you look into all your options.

Human Resources

Most larger businesses have some form of internal complaint system through their human resources department. Many also have explicit anti-bullying policies that list particular behaviors that are off limits. Even medium-sized businesses may have a way to lodge complaints for the owner or manager to address. These internal personnel management tools are your first line of defense. Even if the bully is your direct supervisor, there will often be someone further up the hierarchy that you can ask to review the situation and stop the bullying behavior.

Union Protections

If your workplace has a union, you can often turn to your union representative for help stopping the bullying. Union contracts often have anti-bullying protections for their members. They also often have formal processes through which an employee can challenge the behavior of their superiors. Knowing the union policies and procedures is important because often, you won’t be able to take a case to court until you have done everything you can through the union.

Transfer Requests

Even if your employer has not taken any steps to protect employees against workplace bullying, there may still be something you can do before turning to lawyers and federal agencies: request a transfer. If the bully is your manager or team lead, ask to be assigned to another shift, team, or location with different leadership. Often, this is the easiest remedy because employees can find reasons to request a transfer that do not confront the bully directly, but simply escape the situation.

EEOC Harassment Complaints

If the bullying happening in your workplace is based on a protected class, you can turn to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for help. The employment discrimination attorneys at Eisenberg & Baum, LLP, can help you file and support a harassment complaint, and demonstrate that the bullying you have been exposed to is illegal under federal law. Talk to a lawyer to see if your situation meets the standard to file an EEOC complaint.

Employment Contracts, Policies, and Handbooks

Another route for relief may exist in the language of your employment contract itself. Your employer may have made promises to you about the terms of your employment in its policies, handbook, or training, that you can use to protect yourself. If your employer fails to live up to those promises by providing you a safe, harassment-free workplace, you may be able to take the company to court for breach of contract. An employment lawyer can help you review the contracts and file a lawsuit to protect you and your coworkers from a workplace bully.

Bullying at work can push you to your limit and make you want to quit. Before you give up on a job you used to love, make sure you have taken advantage of all the internal protections and external legal remedies available. Meet with the experienced employment discrimination attorneys at Eisenberg & Baum, LLP, to protect yourself and your job from becoming a victim of bullying. Contact us to schedule a consultation and find out what we can do to help.

Is It Harassment When … ?

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No one wants to look forward to a miserable time at work day after day. Workplaces can be hostile and unwelcoming for a number of reasons. But not every bad work experience amounts to harassment or a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

In this blog, I will go through some of the most common questions about workplace harassment. I will explain what it takes for harassment to create a cause of action under the federal law, and how an employment attorney can help with these common workplace problems.

What is Harassment?

In everyday life, harassment can mean a lot of different things. But when it comes to a federal legal claim, harassment is unwelcome conduct based on a protected characteristic that either (1) is a condition of employment; or (2) creates hostile work environment. In either case, the conduct must be ongoing. Except in very rare cases, a single action will not be enough to create a legal claim under the federal law.

Harassment is covered by several different federal anti-discrimination statutes. Taken together, the law prohibits discrimination based on for discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability or genetic information. It is also illegal to harass a person in retaliation for their involvement in a discrimination charge. A person can file a federal claim against his or her employer for harassment under these statutes:

  • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;
  • The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; and
  • The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The New York City Human Rights Law has a different standard. Under that law, discriminatory harassment or violence includes conduct motivated by race, color, creed, national origin, gender (including gender-identity), sexual orientation, age, marital or partnership status, family status, disability, alienage, or citizenship status and is against the Human Rights Law. It could include patterns of verbal threats, use of force, intimidation, coercion, damaging a person’s property, or cyber-bulling.

Harassment could take the form of offensive jokes, slurs, name calling, intimidation, insults, threats, physical assaults, unwanted physical touching (even “accidental”) or interference with your work. What harassment looks like will be different in each workplace, and often depends on your industry, type of job, and workplace culture. Just because you work in a relaxed atmosphere doesn’t mean you should have to tolerate harassment. But what is hostile enough to amount to discrimination will depend on how a reasonable person would react in the same situation.

Based on this definition, let’s look at some common problems to see what is considered harassment at work under federal law.

Is it sexual harassment if my co-worker asks what I am wearing?

Simply asking what a person is wearing, or asking him or her to comply with an established dress code is not sexual harassment. However, if an employer, supervisor, or co-worker insists you wear revealing clothing or repeatedly makes offensive comments about your choice of dress, it may be harassment under federal law. For example, if your fellow employee tells you, “I like that shirt” it is probably not harassment. However, if your supervisor regularly says, “I would like it if you wore that low-cut shirt,” it might be.

Is it harassment if my boss lies and blames me?

It can be tough to take the blame when things go wrong in the office. While it may be against policy and morally wrong for your boss to lie and blame you, without more, it will seldom be considered illegal harassment or be prohibited by federal law. What turns that lie into harassment is the motive behind it. If your boss’s lies are based on a protected characteristic or in retaliation for your participation in a discrimination claim, that will trigger the anti-harassment provisions of U.S. civil rights law.

Is it harassment if your manager singles you out at work?

Being harassed by your boss can make every day difficult. If your manager singles you out or holds you to a different standard it is often a sign of harassment. Whether it is enough to bring a federal legal claim will depend on whether your supervisor’s activity creates a course of conduct or was simply an isolated incident. Just because your boss has embarrassed you in front of your coworkers doesn’t mean you have a claim. If, however, you are consistently held to a different standard, or called out for your errors, it could be a form of discrimination. Just like when your boss lies, whether it is harassment when your manager singles you out depends on why you are being targeted.

How can I prove what my boss did was harassment?

It can be difficult to prove why you are being harassed by your manager. Sometimes, the motive behind harassment is obvious. For example, when your co-workers use racial slurs or tell derogatory jokes, the proof of the discrimination is right there in the words used. Other times, the reason why you have been blamed or targeted for harassment may be harder to show to a federal administrative law judge who isn’t familiar with your workplace. In those cases, you will need an employment attorney to help you investigate trends, review documents, and interview witnesses in your workplace to develop the case for illegal discrimination.

What can I do if I am being harassed at work?

If you believe that you are being harassed at work, the first step is to report it. If your office has an internal complaint system, use it. Remember that retaliation is illegal as well, so you are protected if your manager decides to use your complaint against you.

If your employer does not respond to your concerns, you may need to take the case to the next level. The experienced employment discrimination attorneys at Eisenberg & Baum will help you decide if what happened to you is a type of harassment prohibited by federal or local law. If it is, they will help you file a claim with the EEOC or a lawsuit in court to get you fair treatment in the workplace. If you feel like your employer is harassing you, contact us. We’ll meet with you and help you identify your claims and protect your rights.