Hostile Work Enviornment Legal Issues:
Unlike harassment in the work place, a hostile work environment may be more subtle and not involve direct person-to-person harassment or insults aimed at you or anyone else. The situations that can give rise to a hostile work environment claim are varied and may include such things as unwanted and unwelcome displays of pornographic or even merely “racy” photographs that are sexually suggestive and could render the work place uncomfortable or offensive to a normal and not overly-sensitive person.
Insensitive and demeaning comments on a work-sponsored bulletin board or “chat room” targeting an individual or group of individuals based on race, sex, age, or the like, may well create a hostile work environment, whereas an occasional “stray” comment that shows nothing more than an isolated case of bad manners may not.
We can help you distinguish whether the situation confronting you, whether as an employer under legal attack or an employee who feels humiliated and insulted, is one that may lead to a successful prosecution or defense if it goes to trial. And we can help make the outcome successful, whether through negotiation or trial.
We welcome an opportunity to meet with you to discuss and analyze your situation in all of its complexity, and help you create your “game plan” to achieve a just outcome. If your case is not worth pursuing or defending, learning that fact as early as possible and then responding intelligently, is very important to your success. The breadth of our experience can help realistically evaluate your case or the case asserted against you in a realistic and professional way.