Many people use the term harassment to compare behaviors in the form of workplace treatment that may be duly harsh.
From a legal perspective, harassment has a very different meaning: It is a conduct that is:
- Based on victim’s protective characteristic
- Must be offensive
- Seems to be unwelcome, and
- Severe or pervasive to affect the victim’s employment
To win a lawsuit in case of harassment, you will have to prove the sentiment from all these 4 angles in the court. However, there are experts in this field by the name of an Employment lawyer, Los Angeles or better say, wrongful termination lawyer Los Angeles and you can take their advice relative to harassment at the workplace.
Protective characteristic
Mostly when it’s discussed legally, harassment is a kind or form of discrimination at the workplace.
Like if you a person belonging to a certain race, gender, age, color and are not treated well, or are made offensive comments around, then it comes to the terms of protective characteristics.
There are certain federal laws like Title VII, the American with disability act, or say the age discrimination in employment act that looks after it and also state laws govern the lawsuit process in case of harassment or discrimination at the workplace.
General complaints have to be very clear in relation to legal actions, or it has been also found that employees can be brought into supervision, especially in case of race or gender.
Offensive conduct
There may be different forms in which harassment can occur and it may be derogatory comments about ethnicity, and age-based names to threats, or even physical violence.
In the case of sexual harassment, it has been found that the victim wished to go on a date or better miss out on working opportunities at the office.
For example, a supervisor would only tend to do promotions or give higher paid salaries if the victim agrees to go for a date and such types of cases are called Quid Pro Quo cases.
Hostile work environment
This is one more type of harassment in which different terms are satisfied.
In this harassment, it doesn’t come to lose discipline or missed opportunities, but it is made tough for the victim to work in the office due to ridicules, belligerent talks, or serious comments.
This type of harassment is mainly based on statements made like comments on the protective characteristics of a person and is known to be more subtle.
For an instance, a manager treats certain community folks better than others, and it may include:
- A Jewish officer is made jokes about hollow casts and is better-assigned book keep positions.
- An African American officer works in a car dealing company where his white co-workers may joke about white cars or other color subjecting him to face color based comments.
- A worker in staff with Cerebral Palsy is mimicked by her manager or certain jokes are made about the way she walks.
Unwelcome conduct
Harassment would be a legal matter if the comments made are not acceptable or hurt a victim in a certain ideological or physical way. Some legal experts do consider that it’s not really an issue to call from certain illusive terms or threaten with violence, but it does come in its legal terms.
The offense made in any case of harassment, whether ideological or physical depends on how victims take it, but if they have reported them to be unwelcome in the legal frame, then a certain legal course will come into action. Only in one case, the conduct is considered not to be a one-sided fault, as if the other party is also able to prove that such person was subjected to harassing comments or jokes in which case it will not be subject to cohesive action.
Severe or pervasive
Harassment becomes more serious with time if certain incidents have been happening at regular intervals at the workplace. One teasing comment, request for a date, or a belligerent word might not look serious, but it happens often at the workplace, superiors misuse such comments on certain profile employees, then it will become severe.
With the exception of physical assault, harassment can be considered by courts, but other than that it becomes severe when it happens at constant times in the workplace. One thing is not clear that what may be a single drawn line on which it becomes severe, the court mainly observes the circumstances, condition of misuse or conduct and on that matter, they decide their judgment.
Terms and conditions of employment
It mainly depends on who is the harasser on which an employee’s job can be affected, let’s say the person is a supervisor so in such case firing, negative job call, or definitive pay scale can be done by such employer.
In case of a hostile workplace, it’s essential too that the victim provide it to be reasonably hostile or only by saying so won’t prove it to be a hostile environment.
Besides, an employer is trying to find a substitute for you in case of harassment, so better take legal help if you seriously feel terms of your employees making a cross between you and your life.
Conclusion
If you are facing serious harassment, the employer doesn’t seem to be bothered with it and you require legal assistance, better come in touch with employment lawyer Los Angeles who would be at your service.
And if you have lost your job due to harassment at the workplace and just because you complain of it, better consult a Wrongful termination lawyer, Los Angeles, and things would be rightly settled around.
