When does an employee have a case for discrimination, sexual harassment or creating a hostile work environment?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
When does an employee have a case for discrimination, sexual harassment or creating a hostile work environment?
Today as I was working I spoke with a co-worker about somethings going on in my life. I explained about some troubles my girlfriend was having and while explaining this one of the owners of my company walked in and remarked, “Well now that she doesn’t have to worry about that she can just start sucking [co-workers name’s] balls”. I was obviously highly upset about this but does it actually constitute anything that should be acted on? This boss has been known to make many comments like this and at the time its just starting to go too far.
Asked on November 29, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Sexual harassment or discrimination would be against a person because of his or her sex/gender--so, for example, if the comment you describe was made to your girlfriend, not to you, that could potentially constitute sexual harassment. (Note: this is presuming you are male; if you are female, then it may be harassment for the comment to be made to you.) However, making an inappropriate comment about women or a particular woman to a male would not be considered sexual harassment.
There is no general rule prohibiting a workplace from being "hostile"--they can be incredibly hostile, in fact. All that is prohibited is certain defined forms of discrimination or harassment: e.g. against a person due to his/her sex, race, religion, age over 40, or disability. Apart from these specific protections, however, there is no real limit on how unpleasant bosses or workplaces can be, and no action you can take.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.