How to Take
Action Against Workplace Harassment
Addressing
workplace harassment a concern and
worthwhile priority for New York employers
Unfortunately, for individuals in New York
City and all over the country, workplace
harassment is still a very real challenge on
a day-to-day basis. Understanding how to
identify and prevent this from happening to
you is an important way to help stop it
across the country. It's important to
realize that sexual harassment is only one
kind of harassment. However, no kind of
harassment should be allowed in any
workplace at all.
Any
employer who is subject to federal
anti-discrimination laws has an obligation
to provide a work environment free from
insult, intimidation or ridicule as a result
of gender, national origin, religion, color
or race. An employer should be concerned
with compliance for these
anti-discrimination laws, but an employer
should also focus on how to prevent
harassment so as to avoid litigation in
state courts.
Defining
Harassment
Harassment
refers to physical or verbal conduct that
shows hostility or aversion towards an
individual, or denigrates that individual as
a result of that person's skin color,
religion, gender, race, age, national origin
or disability. Harassment can have the
effect of creating a hostile or offensive
work environment, can impede an individual's
work performance, and can also adversely
affect a person's employment opportunities.
Looking at the definition of illegal
harassment can seem very broad at first
glance, but in the course of interpreting
the various standards through the courts,
it's easier to understand how harassment is
actually treated and when an employer can
face challenges due to alleged harassment.
One of the
most important things to understand about
these situations is called the reasonable
person's standards. In order to determine
whether harassing conduct has occurred, an
employer or court may wish to consider
whether another person in the same situation
would find these circumstances abusive,
intimidating or hostile. If a certain
situation meets these standards, then it
could be considered harassment.
This
general interpretation also initiates the
need for considering how an individual
employee perceives that harassment. While
the general application of harassment using
the reasonable person standard is critical,
the individual treatment of a particular
employee is what may be considered in the
courts.
Employers
can take steps to prevent harassment in the
workplace by offering training to all new
employees, annual training to highlight
important aspects of harassment law, and by
dealing with allegations of harassment
immediately and effectively. An employer
could be accused of ignoring harassment or
allowing it to continue if he/she does not
respond properly to one person's claim about
harassment or discrimination in the
workplace. Take all claims seriously and
investigate them to comply with federal
anti-discrimination laws and protect
yourself from serious lawsuits.
If you
have been a victim of
workplace harassment after reporting it
to your superiors, reach out to leading New
York employment lawyers at the offices of
Hepworth, Gershbaum & Roth, PLLC at
212-545-1199 or
contact us online for a free,
confidential consultation.
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Contact an employment law
attorney in New York today
for a free initial
consultation and determine
whether you have a case. For
a free initial consultation,
you can contact us online or
by phone.
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