If your manager routinely tells crude jokes in the break room and they make you uncomfortable or a co-worker addresses you constantly using a racial slur, you are working in a hostile environment, which is illegal. Any form of harassment that contributes to the toxicity can be grounds for a regulatory complaint or a lawsuit against your employer if they refuse to do anything about the problem after you report it.
Silent suffering may give the impression you are not offended by the harassment and inappropriate treatment by co-workers and employers. If you report the behavior through proper channels at work and harassment and intimidation increase or continue unabated, an Atlanta hostile work environment lawyer with the Feldman Legal Group can step in. Our employment attorneys are ready to take action for you.
Harassment Leads to a Hostile Work Environment
The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) describes harassment as any ongoing and unwelcome behavior targeting protected classes, including race, religion, gender, nationality, age, physical or mental disability, and sex (including conditions specific to sex, such as pregnancy and sexual harassment).
Some instances are obvious, such as a manager pressuring a female employee for sexual favors in exchange for a promotion or making cruel jokes about a disability, but some behavior, although obnoxious, may not amount to harassment and a hostile work environment. Calling a co-worker ‘old man’ all the time could be harassment if the person is nearing retirement but could also be passable conduct if the person is 23.
Employees who are unsure if what they are experiencing is enough to warrant action because the workplace is becoming more toxic should consult with an Atlanta hostile work environment attorney for guidance.
How a Toxic Work Environment Affects Employees and Employers
Failing to curtail harassment fosters a hostile workplace that affects all employees, not just the targets, and impacts employers as well. All workplaces have specific cultures that assimilate those comfortable in them but may alienate those who are different.
A young workforce may exclude an older worker from brainstorming meetings and may subtly begin making comments belittling the employee’s age that escalate into more aggressive comments. Other workers who are older, too, will begin to feel the anti-aging culture and become uncomfortable. This leads to lower productivity and high employee turnover. When the culture declines into full-blown hostility, intimidation, and bad attitudes, regulatory complaints are more frequent, and lawsuits are not far behind. When a person endures a hostile work environment, everyone is affected, and they should seek the guidance of an Atlanta Lawyer.
What Employees Can Do About a Hostile Workplace
Complaints about hostile workplaces can be filed with the EEOC, but broader remedies are available when an employee files a civil lawsuit against an employer who was complicit in the harassment that caused the problem.
The most important action an intimidated employee can take is to document every instance of harassment, including:
- The day the harassment began, and each day it happened again
- A narrative about the type of harassment upon each occurrence
- Who was involved in the intimidation
- What the employer’s response was when the harassment was reported
- How the harassment continued after reporting it according to company policy
Mitchell Feldman understands workplace culture and strives to provide a positive, nurturing culture at the Feldman Legal Group, not just for our Atlanta lawyers and support team but for clients who have been shaken and jaded by hostile work environments.
Our Atlanta Attorneys Dismantle Hostile Work Environments
You spend thousands of hours at work during your lifetime, and the culture should be rewarding, safe, and positive every day. When you are intimidated, harassed, or threatened, the environment turns hostile. If your treatment is related to an innate characteristic such as your color or gender, the behavior turns unlawful.
The attorneys at Feldman Legal Group have extensive knowledge of federal and state laws that protect you from becoming a target because of your personal characteristics. Fighting for fair treatment for all, no matter how they look or what religion they practice, is what we do. Our Atlanta hostile work environment lawyers can fight for you. Call now to learn more about your legal options.
(877) 946-8293