Americans spend a significant part of their adult lives in the workplace. As a result, teh culture can have a significant impact on all aspects of employees lives, especially if it is toxic. By law, workers are entitled to a safe workplace free from discrimination and hostile environments. Unfortunately, some employees neglect to protect these rights and allow individuals to engage in despicable behavior that can create a culture of abuse and neglect.
Employees who suffer from a hostile work environment should have no fear of speaking up. Both federal and state laws have been passed designed to protect employees from the abuse of their employers. Additionally, there are federal and state agencies designed to uphold the standards put in place by these laws.
At Walker Law, our attorneys are dedicated to ensuring employees who have been harassed or abused in a hostile work environment get the justice they deserve. Mistreatment not only affects job performance, but can be emotionally damaging to the individual for a long period of time. Our Riverside hostile work environment lawyers will fight by your side so you can have dignity knowing that you did back down from an abusive environment. Call Walker Law today to show your employer that what they did is unacceptable and that they should be held accountable for their actions.
What is a Hostile Work Environment?
Hostile work environments are workplaces where the work performance of employees are negatively affected by the employee’s superiors or coworkers due to their words and behaviors. Of course, not every job is perfect. However, work environments cross over from bad to hostile when the established negative culture leads to violations of basic rights that are protected by law.
Some examples of hostile work environments include:
Being relentlessly yelled at by the supervisor to the point where the behavior can be considered emotionally abusive
Not being able to receive an increase in pay due to difference in race
Being subjected to unwanted racial slurs
Being belittled and bullied for religious affiliation by co-workers
Being stalked and sexually harassed
Various laws can be used by clients to victims to assert hostile workplace claims., including the ADEA (Aged Discrimination in Employment Act) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
How to Determine if a Work Environment is Hostile
The threshold for determining if a work environment is hostile is defined by two things: the frequency and the severity. If the actions occur repeatedly to a point where it becomes behavioral, the actions may be considered hostile. If the actions are infrequent but outbursts are severe and deeply personal, then the actions could still be considered hostile.
Below are some actions to consider in addressing a potentially hostile work environment:
Communicate concerns with management, especially if there is a documented process for how these concerns should be handled
Document how the company addresses the raised concerns, including when the discussion happened and how the issue was addressed. If possible, list statements verbatim.
If concerns still have not been addressed, consider reaching out for legal consultation
Contact Walker Law Today
Employees are not entitled to a perfect work environment but they are given protections that allow them basic rights as people. When employers neglect to respect these boundaries, legal action is necessary to right their wrongs. At Walker Law, P.C., we protect employees from mistreatment by holding employers accountable who sanction hostile workplace environments. Contact our Riverside hostile work environment lawyers today to get the justice you deserve.
