Key Takeaways:
- Unlawful workplace harassment generally involves a protected characteristic, such as race, religion, sex, disability, or age.
- An extremely serious incident may support a claim; other cases involve repeated conduct.
- Employers can bear responsibility when co-workers, customers, or clients harass employees.
- Internal complaints generally do not pause agency filing deadlines.
Repeated slurs, unwanted touching, and threats can make it difficult to do your job. And when this severe and pervasive harassment involves a protected characteristic, such as race, sex, or disability, it may also create an abusive and unlawful hostile work environment.
What Makes a Work Environment Legally Hostile?
More than simple personal animosity, federal law considers whether the harassment in question is severe or pervasive enough that a reasonable person in your position would find the environment intimidating, hostile, or abusive. Additionally, the conduct generally must relate to a legally protected characteristic.
Harassment investigators consider how often the conduct occurred, how serious it was, whether it involved threats or humiliation, and whether it interfered with your work. An isolated annoyance ordinarily falls below the legal threshold, but an extremely serious incident can support a claim.
For example, repeated racial insults raise different legal concerns from a supervisor’s curt response to a missed deadline. If an investigator or lawyer asks you about the incidents, describe the actual words and actions. Calling a workplace “toxic” tells a lawyer little about whether discrimination occurred.
Which Laws Protect Philadelphia Employees?
Several laws may apply, depending on your employer and the conduct involved:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act: Prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Prohibits disability discrimination.
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act: Protects workers age 40 and older from age discrimination.
For private employers, Title VII and the ADA generally apply when the employer has at least 15 employees, subject to statutory counting rules. In Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania’s Human Relations Act generally covers employers with four or more employees, and Philadelphia’s Fair Practices Ordinance provides additional protections, including those concerning marital and familial status.
What Conduct Can Support a Harassment Claim?
Examples of valid harassment claims include those referencing repeated racial slurs, sexually degrading images, threats tied to religious beliefs, mockery of disability-related limitations, and unwanted sexual touching. Sexual harassment does not require sexual attraction; an employee’s demeaning a co-worker because of their sex can also qualify. Harassment can occur through workplace messages and video meetings, including when employees work from home.
Bear in mind that your employer’s policy may prohibit behavior before it reaches the legal threshold for harassment. You do not need to wait until the conduct becomes severe or frequent to report it through your available complaint procedures.
When Can an Employer Be Responsible?
An employer’s responsibility depends partly on who committed the harassment and what happened afterward. Federal law looks differently upon harassment by supervisors and harassment by co-workers or non-employees, including customers and clients.
An employer is responsible when a supervisor’s harassment results in a tangible employment action, such as firing or demotion. The employer, in these instances, must prove both that it reasonably tried to prevent and promptly correct the harassment and that the employee unreasonably failed to use available preventive or corrective opportunities.
For harassment by co-workers or non-employees within the employer’s control, the employer can face liability if it knew or should have known about the conduct and failed to take prompt, appropriate corrective action.
What Should You Do if You Experience Harassment?
Review your employer’s reporting procedures and keep a factual record of what happened:
- Document incidents: Record dates, locations, participants, witnesses, and the words or actions involved.
- Save supporting material: Keep relevant messages, emails, photographs, and complaint responses you lawfully possess.
- Make a specific report: Explain what happened and why you believe it involves discrimination.
- Track management’s response: Note whether anyone follows up and whether the conduct stops.
If you feel uncomfortable confronting the harasser, you can report the conduct to your employer instead.
Can Your Employer Retaliate After You Complain?
The law prohibits employers and supervisors from retaliating against workers for protected activity, including reasonably opposing perceived discrimination or participating in discrimination proceedings. Retaliation includes actions that would discourage a reasonable employee from asserting protected rights; an employer does not have to fire someone to violate the law.
Document any sudden discipline, threats, or unfavorable changes after you report discrimination or harassment. Record when those instances occurred, the employer’s explanation, and how the treatment differs from your earlier experience.
How Long Do You Have to File a Complaint?
Filing deadlines depend on the agency and the law involved:
- Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC): Generally, 180 days after the alleged discrimination.
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): Often 300 days for covered Pennsylvania claims, depending on the legal basis.
- Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR): Generally, 300 days for complaints under the city’s ordinance.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
Can one incident create a hostile work environment?
Yes, if it is extremely serious. Less severe conduct generally must occur frequently enough to meet the applicable legal standard.
Does a difficult boss automatically create a legal claim?
No. Personality conflicts, disagreements, and criticism alone generally do not violate federal employment discrimination laws unless they involve a protected characteristic.
Does the employer have to fire the harasser?
No. The appropriate response depends on the circumstances. The employer should take corrective measures that stop the harassment and prevent it from recurring.
What compensation may be available?
Depending on the applicable law and the losses you prove, relief may include lost pay, benefits, compensation for emotional harm, and lawyers’ fees. Some claims permit “punitive damages,” subject to legal requirements and limits.
If You Are Facing Workplace Harassment, Speak With Our Experienced Philadelphia Employment Lawyers at The Gold Law Firm P.C. for an Explanation of Your Workplace Rights
If you are unsure how to report harassment or management has dismissed your complaint, our Philadelphia employment lawyers at The Gold Law Firm P.C. can review what happened and explain your legal options. Call today at 215-569-1999 or fill out our online contact form to schedule a free consultation. With office locations in Philadelphia and Malvern, Pennsylvania, Pennsauken, New Jersey, and New York, New York, we proudly serve clients in the surrounding areas. *NYC, Pennsauken, and Malvern offices are by appointment only.
