Not every job is wonderful, and not every career path is right for everyone. There are many reasons that a Los Angeles resident may dislike the work that they do. While many of those reasons relate to the responsibilities and the tasks the individual is asked to perform, others concern wrongful and sometimes illegal conduct happening around them.
For example, when an employee is subject to working in a hostile work environment, they may be unable to comfortably function in their place of employment. That is because a hostile work environment consists of a threatening or offensive culture of treatment of employees by their superiors or cohorts. That culture may sexualize the work environment to such a degree that a worker’s experience is affected by the hostile nature of the experience.
The creation of a hostile work environment is a form of sexual harassment. Employers have the responsibility to address hostile work environments and to take action to prevent it from hurting workers. When an employee is subject to hostile working conditions, they have rights to seek redress under both state and federal law.
When evaluating if a work environment is hostile and harassing to an employee, there are many factors that can be considered. If the offensive conduct is related to the type of business the employer engages in, it may be viewed differently than if the employer offered goods or services of a non-sexual nature. Additionally, an assessment of reasonableness may determine if a reasonable person would have felt harassed in the environment created by the employer.
Getting help with a hostile work environment claim can be a good way for an employee to protect themselves as they seek to end the pervasive and harassing ethos of their workplace. Attorneys who represent victims of workplace sexual harassment can guide their clients through the many steps of addressing workplace harassment and discrimination.