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What is "harassment"?

"Harassment" is a specific kind of discrimination. It occurs when someone at your workplace (e.g., a supervisor or a coworker), says or does something to make an employee feel uncomfortable or intimidated. Harassment is illegal only if it is done because of an employee's race, gender or other protected category.

The two most common types of harassment are sexual harassment and racial harassment.

• What is "sexual harassment"?
• Dirty jokes
• Rejected suitors
• Touching
• Racial harassment
• Claim procedure
• A lawsuit against the employer
• Retaliation

What is "sexual harassment"?

Sexual harassment usually occurs when there is a "hostile work environment"- "severe or pervasive" unwelcome sexual conduct related to the workplace. It comes in many forms: it might involve sex jokes, posters or flyers that make fun of women, unwanted touching, requests for sexual favors, comments about a person's body or sexuality, or actual sexual assault or rape. Sexual harassment can occur if a worker is denied a promotion or is fired if the worker doesn't engage in sex with the supervisor.

If a worker files a claim against you for sexual harassment, you should contact an attorney who specializes in employment law.

Dirty jokes

If a co-employee once told a worker a "dirty" joke, that is probably not sex harassment, because it happened only once. To prove that the worker was in a hostile environment, the worker usually has to show that the conduct was "severe or pervasive." In other words, the conduct had to be pretty bad or happened many times.

Rejected suitors

It is not sexual harassment for a supervisor to ask a subordinate for a date, but if the worker turn the supervisor down and gets punished for the rejection - by getting fired, transferred, or denied a promotion, etc. - this is probably sexual harassment.

Touching

If a supervisor or a co-employee "touches" a worker in a casual way, such as a pat on the back or a congratulatory hug, that is probably not sex harassment as long as it was not "unwelcome." However, if an employee is offended by such casual touching, the employee should notify the "toucher" immediately, and if such touching continues, it might be considered illegal harassment.

Racial harassment

Racial harassment involves unwanted conduct that affects the conditions of employment. To prove racial harassment, an employee must show that the harassing behavior is of a racist nature and alters the conditions of employment.

If a worker makes a claim of racial harassment against you, you should contact an attorney who specializes in employment law.