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” Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other federal laws, harassment is unwelcome conduct based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information. Unwelcome conduct becomes unlawful harassment when enduring the conduct becomes a condition of employment. It also is unlawful when it is so pervasive that the work environment becomes intimidating, abusive, and hostile.  The test for whether a work environment is “hostile” is whether it would be intimidating, hostile, or offensive to reasonable people. Petty slights and annoyances would not qualify. Nor would most isolated incidents of unwelcome conduct.  Offensive conduct includes slurs, epithets, offensive jokes, physical assaults, threats, intimidation, ridicule, mockery, put-downs, insults, offensive pictures or objects. The offensive conduct must be based on a protected characteristic (such as race, gender, etc.) to violate federal law. The conduct must be so severe, reoccurring, or pervasive that it interferes with the employee’s ability to do their job. Federal anti-discrimination laws do not apply to all employers in the United States. Instead, an employer must have 15 or more employees (or 20 employees if alleging age discrimination). If your employer is not covered by federal law, then it may be covered by an equivalent state law. Many states have anti-discrimination laws to cover employees not captured by the federal law. Furthermore, some state laws provide greater protection by prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. To find state law, you can search in your local courthouse law library or on the Internet. To search the Internet, type your state and “antidiscrimination” or “hostile workplace” into your web browser. A work environment may become intimidating, abusive, and hostile in a variety of ways. The harasser does not have to be the supervisor. Instead, harassers can also be co-worker, subordinates, or non-employees. Nor does the person complaining about the hostile work environment have to be the object of the harassment.  A woman was awarded $8 million for egregious tormenting because she was a woman. She was trapped in a port-a-potty for 20 minutes on a hot day, regularly shown pictures of naked women, and ridiculed for working in a male-dominated industry.  A waitress prevailed on a hostile workplace claim when two customers came into her restaurant and made filthy comments. On one occasion, one of the customers pulled her hair and then placed his mouth on her breast. To understand whether or not you have a legitimate hostile workplace claim, you should probably meet with a lawyer. A lawyer can help you identify whether the harassment rises to illegal conduct. To find a lawyer, contact your state’s bar association. It should run a referral service.   You might want to meet with a lawyer who is a certified specialist in employment law. Not every state allows certification. But some states will certify specialists if they have dedicated a certain percentage of their practice to employment law. Applicants also must take advanced legal education classes and receive recommendations from other lawyers or judges. Lastly, applicants must pass a written exam to earn the certification.  Employment litigation can be expensive. Usually, an employment case will cost between $8,000 and $30,000 in attorney’s fees. You can discuss alternate fee arrangements when you meet with the lawyer for a consultation. Usually, lawyers bill on an hourly basis. However, many employment attorneys will represent clients on a “contingency” fee agreement. Under this arrangement, the lawyer gets paid a percentage of your award amount only if you win the case. Although you might still be responsible for paying court costs, such as filing fees and court reporters, a contingency fee agreement can make legal representation affordable.
Understand the federal definition of “hostile work environment. Check if your employer is covered. Research state law. Recognize examples of a hostile work environment. Meet with a lawyer.