Nassau County Hostile Work Environment

Knowledgeable Employment Attorneys Serving Nassau County

Nassau County has about 48,000 employer establishments. About 65% of its population is white, and females make up a very slight majority of the population at 51.4%. Harassment is a type of employment discrimination, and one form of harassment is hostile work environment harassment. At Phillips & Associates, our Nassau County hostile work environment lawyers may be able to represent you in this type of claim.

Hostile work environment harassment claims may arise under certain federal laws: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). These laws apply to mid-sized workplaces. The New York State Human Rights Law also permits you to sue for a hostile work environment if you are harassed based on protected characteristics. Generally, it allows you to file a hostile work environment claim if your employer has at least four employees. However, in the case of a hostile work environment based on sexual harassment, you can sue an employer even if you are the only employee.

Proving a Hostile Work Environment

Hostile work environment harassment occurs when the conduct is so severe or pervasive that it creates a work environment that a reasonable person would believe was abusive, intimidating, or hostile. The harassment must be based on a protected characteristic. For example, protected characteristics under Title VII are sex, national origin, race, color, and religion. The ADA protects against discrimination and harassment based on a disability. The ADEA protects people who are at least 40 from age discrimination. If you are harassed due to any of these protected characteristics, and the offensive words or conduct are so severe or pervasive that you believe that a reasonable person would find the environment hostile, intimidating, or abusive, it is important to consult a hostile work environment attorney in Nassau County.

Generally, trivial slights or annoyances will not create a hostile work environment. Offensive conduct that can rise to the level of a hostile work environment when it is severe or pervasive includes physical assault, threats, ridicule, mockery, name calling, insults, epithets, slurs, offensive jokes, and offensive objects or pictures. You can be affected by a hostile work environment even if you have not been fired or suffered an economic injury. For example, if you are black, and your coworkers call you racial epithets on a regular basis, hang nooses around the office, and try to physically block your way as you try to get around the office, this is likely to be found a hostile work environment based on race.

This conduct can occur in many different circumstances and still be actionable. For example, a hostile work environment can be created by your supervisor, your customer, or your co-worker. Anybody affected by the offensive behavior may be a victim who can bring a hostile work environment claim with the aid of a Nassau County hostile work environment attorney.

You should let the harasser or harassers know clearly and directly that their behavior is unwelcome. If that does not stop the harassment, you should report it to management as soon as possible. When a supervisor is the person to create a hostile work environment, your employer can escape liability only if it is able to show that it reasonably tried to stop and fix the harassing behavior, but you unreasonably failed to take advantage of corrective or preventive opportunities that it gave you.

Claims Under State Law

To succeed on a claim of hostile work environment under the New York State Human Rights Law, you will need to show that the workplace is permeated with discriminatory insults, ridicule, and intimidation and that it is sufficiently pervasive or severe to change the conditions of your employment and create an abusive working environment. To be actionable under state law, the incidents constituting a hostile work environment must be repeated and continuous. Generally, you cannot recover damages for isolated acts or occasional episodes under state law.

Contact a Hostile Work Environment Lawyer in Nassau County

At Phillips & Associates, our experienced Nassau County attorneys can evaluate your situation to determine whether you have a strong claim for a hostile work environment and represent you in holding your employer accountable. Call us at (866) 229-9441 or complete our online form. We offer free consultations, and we charge no fees upfront, instead keeping a percentage of the money that we win for you.

PHILLIPS & ASSOCIATES 

585 Stewart Ave #410 

 Garden City, NY 11530 

Tel: (866) 229-9441 

Fax: (212) 901-2107