The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) defines workplace harassment as a type of employment discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, (ADA) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. Washington’s Law Against Discrimination, prohibit discrimination and harassment in most workplaces. Under Washington’s Law Against Discrimination in order to establish that a person has been harassed or discriminated against, that person must show that: (1) the conduct was unwelcome; (2) the harassment occurred because of the person’s class or status; (3) it affected the terms or conditions of employment; and (4) it was imputed to the employer. To impute harassment to the employer, the offending party must be a company owner, operator, manager or supervisor. If the offending party is a co-worker, the claimant must establish that the employer knew about the harassment but did nothing to prevent it. To establish workplace discrimination, evidence must show: (1) the person (also known as a target) was an actual or perceived member of a protected class; (2) performing satisfactory work; (3) subjected to an adverse employment action or treatment (fired, laid off, not promoted, denied a particular training, job assignment, harassed, etc.), and (4) that other non-protected co-workers doing substantially the same work were not subjected to the same treatment. Pushing around a subordinate or co-worker or bullying based on ethnicity, age, disabilities or physical appearance, race, religion, sexual orientation amounts to discrimination. Mocking a person’s accent, racial slurs or mocking a disabled person’s physical impairment are just some of the common examples of discrimination. Direct derogatory comments about a subordinate or co-worker or gossip or rumors that intend to harm the character or embarrass or ostracize a target may qualify as workplace harassment. Workplace harassment may also be sexual in nature; it comes in the form of unwanted sexual advances, sexual language or jokes about sexually explicit topics. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has ruled time and again that isolated incidents and offhand comments do not constitute harassment. There is workplace harassment if the offensive conduct or comments from peers, subordinates or senior personnel occurs on a regular and consistent basis and be overbearing, i.e. severe and pervasive. Adverse actions also constitute an element of workplace harassment such as when a worker is fired laid or denied opportunities to advance his career (example: denial of training or promotion or unreasonable threats of dismissal) on account of discrimination or harassment. Workplace harassment should not be encouraged because (1) it is unlawful, (2) it creates a negative, tension-filled and unhealthy environment for the targeted worker and witnesses, and (3) it could result in legal problems for the employer and the company. It is not enough that the company has a detailed anti-harassment policy sets the framework for actions in the office. A policy to the effect that the company has zero-tolerance for harassment in the workplace is just lip service if the company do not conduct training classes as well as implement Human Resources systems to handle harassment complaints. A worker who knows his rights under the law and employee policies can better protect himself from workplace harassment. It also allows him to discern whether the act(s) complained of truly constitute harassment as defined by law. Petty arguments or annoying behaviors that occur at the workplace is lawful harassment (yes, you read it right, it is lawful). Being able to distinguish lawful from unlawful harassment, a worker should maintain some sort of a diary where he can record in detail instances of harassment (date, the occurrence, witnesses who can testify in his favor). Before formally filing a complaint, make an effort to let the offending party understand how you feel. By making him realize the implications of his actions, he may apologize and that’s the end of it. If this does not work and the harassment persists, then you might have to file a formal complaint. Ask your co-workers who are witnesses to the harassment if they are willing to testify in your favor. File a formal complaint before higher authority (usually the human resource department) and attach your evidence – you log and witness affidavits. If your company has a workplace harassment hotline, you can make an anonymous complaint by phone. If there is a strong reason to believe that your company will not act on your complaint due to bias in favor of your supervisor or co-worker, then it is time to report the harassment to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). If the EEOC does not have jurisdiction, file a complaint with your state's labor relations board or file a civil lawsuit against your employer. Government agencies have established procedures for filing in-house complaints. EEOC complaints can be made over the telephone, online or in person at a local EEOC office. Depending on your state, workers usually have a period of 180 to 300 days from the incident to report workplace harassment. Employers are required to respond to this complaint and are liable under the law in the absence of proof that they did everything within their power to stop the harassment. If the EEOC finds that discrimination has occurred, it will try to settle the charge. If those attempts aren't successful, it then it will file a lawsuit to protect the rights of individuals and the interests of the public. The EEOC does not, however, file lawsuits in all cases where it finds discrimination. This blog is not legal advice, but shares information on the law. We are living in hard times; people lose their jobs and many are struggling to make ends meet. Legalbargain.net gives back to society by sharing it’s knowledge and producing advocacy videos to put justice within the reach of those who believe justice is only for those with money.
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