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Hostile Work Environment Claims 
As an
employee, you have a right to work in an environment that is free of
discrimination, intimidation, insult and ridicule. You may be able to
file a hostile work environment claim in court if the harassment you
experienced unreasonably interfered with your work performance or
created an offensive or intimidating work environment. In order to have
a claim for hostile work environment, generally, you must be able to
prove that there was more than a single incident of harassment. However,
an extremely severe single incident of harassment (such as a sexual
assault or rape) may be enough for a lawsuit. Unless the conduct is
quite severe, a single incident or isolated incidents of offensive
sexual conduct or remarks generally will be inadequate to prove the
existence of a “hostile environment.”
In
order to prove a hostile work environment claim, you may also have to
show that the sexual conduct was without your permission. If you
consented to the sexual conduct, you may be unable to maintain a sexual
harassment lawsuit. Even if you once had an intimate relationship with
someone who later sexually harasses you, you may still have a sexual
harassment claim if you able to show that you clearly indicated that the
sexual attention was no longer welcome. For example, by having written a
letter to the harasser that you were no longer interested in having a
continuing relationship with him and that his sexual attention is no
longer welcome and or appreciated, you may be able to establish that
sexual conduct that took place after the letter is harassment. |
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