Everyone works hard to earn a paycheck to fulfill their dreams and make a living. Your workplace is supposed to be a safe place, but having a hostile work environment can increase fear mental anguish and put the employee under a tremendous emotional burden. Despite laws to prevent harassment and hostility at the workplace, many companies still provide a hostile working environment.
Fortunately, state and federal laws protect the employees and hold the employer accountable for their actions. The victim of a hostile work environment can file for compensation. If you believe that your working environment is hostile, you may want to speak to an employment lawyer Connecticut to know your legal rights and pursue a claim against your employer.
What constitutes a hostile working environment?
As per the law, a hostile working environment is where the discriminative or harassment behavior of the employer or others in the workplace puts someone in fear or unsafe condition. Common examples include discrimination. Discrimination can be based on the following:
- Sexual orientation.
- Gender.
- Race or color.
- Nationality.
- Disability.
- Family status.
- Age, and more.
In addition to these, employers cannot discriminate against the employer in Connecticut based on their marital status, pregnancy, mental disability, veteran status, learning disabilities, and more.
Any sign of discrimination based on the following factors mentioned above makes the working environment hostile. For example, a senior or employer using racial slurs, making fun of your sexual orientation, or passing jokes around your skin color can be called out. If any of the factors are visible, contact a lawyer to know your eligibility for a claim.
Can you take legal action against your employer?
As per the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), you can sue your employer if the harassment is a continued action and any behavior makes the employees feel unsafe.
You can also sue your employer for harassing someone else as long as you feel unwelcome or unsafe. Moreover, you still have a valid claim if you reported a particular incident to your HR, and in return, you were threatened or harassed. For example, someone else in your team was harassed by the employer. When you reported the incident to the HR department, they threatened to terminate you from the job and forced you not to speak about it. In such a situation, you can pursue legal action against your employer.
Before taking any decision or jumping to a conclusion, it is advisable to seek help from an employment lawyer who can help you understand the grounds of filing for a claim and ensure that you get the justice you deserve.
