Queens Hostile Work Environment Lawyers

As touched on above, a hostile work environment is often the product of workplace harassment and discrimination. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), harassment is a form of discrimination that violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964, specifically, Title VII. Harassment may also be a breach of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), or the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). 

While there are a number of workplace behaviors that a person may engage in that could be uncomfortable, harassment is only unlawful under federal law if the following criteria are satisfied:

• First, the harassing behavior–which may include a number of different behaviors, including those listed above–becomes an enduring, pervasive condition of continued employment. This means that an isolated incident of teasing will likely not constitute harassment. 
• Second, the conduct is so severe that, even if it is not an enduring condition of continued employment, it creates a hostile work environment or an environment that a reasonable person would find abusive or intimidating. 
• Under the New York State Human Rights Law, an employer can be liable for less than under federal law.  Under state law, an employee only has to show that the harassment subjected them to “inferior terms, conditions or privileges of employment.”
• The New York City Human Rights Law requires an employee to show even less in order to have a harassment claim.  Under City Law, an employee has to show that they were treated less well than their co-workers due to their membership in a protected class.