How Can an Atlanta Hostile Work Environment Attorney Help?
If you are faced with a hostile work place or job harassment, you need experienced counsel from an Atlanta hostile work environment attorney.
You may be entitled to back pay, front pay, lost benefits, pain and suffering and punitive damages.
Hostile work environment harassment takes place when unwelcome speech or conduct is "severe or pervasive" enough to create an abusive or toxic work environment.
A hostile work environment is a form of discrimination. It violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. When it happens to you, it can be personally and professionally devastating.
A hostile work environment is different from quid pro quo harassment. Quid pro quo sexual harassment takes place when your boss or supervisor threatens you or changes your working conditions because you will not submit to his or her sexual demands.
Hostile work environment harassment involves a pattern of ongoing sexual harassment. Common examples of sexually charged misconduct that can create a hostile work environment include:
- Sending, forwarding, or soliciting sexually suggestive emails, images, letters, and notes
- Staring in a sexually suggestive manner
- Making sexual statements about appearance, clothing, and body parts
- Touching an employee's clothing, hair, or body in a sexual way
- Telling sexual jokes, hanging sexual posters, and making sexual gestures
A hostile work environment is not limited to workplace harassment involving sexual harassment.
Instead, any form of unwelcome speech or conduct that is based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or retaliation that is severe or pervasive can create a hostile work environment.
When you are the victim of workplace harassment, you must act immediately to protect your rights.
An experienced Atlanta hostile work environment lawyer can help you develop a winning case while protecting you against further job harassment and hostile work environment retaliation.
Contact us now for a free consultation.
Do I Have a Good Hostile Work Environment Harassment Case?
The first thing our Atlanta hostile work environment attorneys do is determine if you have a good case.
Good hostile work environment cases share three common elements:
- Your harassment is either severe, pervasive or both
- You complained to Human Resources (HR) or a supervisor is aware of the harassment
- Your employer failed to prevent and correct the harassment
Harassment by an abusive boss or bullying supervisor can clearly give rise to a hostile work environment claim.
However, your fellow employees, co-workers and even independent contractors can be responsible for creating hostile working environments as well.
Your employer can be held accountable for this harassment if it fails to protect you.
Your employer can also be held accountable if it fails to create an anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policy or fails to enforce an existing policy.
If you are thinking about making a hostile work environment complaint to your employer's HR manager, the key to protecting your rights is to begin by working with an experienced employment attorney as soon as possible.
By taking action on your own without seeking legal advice, you run a risk of harming your potential case or unnecessarily suffering a demotion, suspension, or wrongful termination.
Workplace harassment is intimidating. However, you do not have to suffer in silence. Our Atlanta hostile work environment attorneys are ready to help.
Contact us today for a free consultation.
Choosing the Right Atlanta Hostile Work Environment Lawyer Can Make All the Difference
If you are the victim of workplace harassment, you may be entitled to significant compensation.
The average jury award in hostile work environment cases is $250,000.
The largest jury verdict, based on a company-wide policy and practice of discrimination, reached over $250 million. Depending on the facts in your case, you may be entitled to back pay, front pay, lost benefits, pain and suffering and punitive damages.
The following federal employment laws protect you from a hostile work environment:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
- Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
All three laws are enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). An experienced Atlanta hostile work environment attorney can help you determine if the harassment you are suffering violates one or more of these laws.
Isolated or trivial remarks generally do not create a hostile work environment.
Instead, determining if harassment is severe or pervasive involves a careful legal evaluation that looks at the quality and quantity of the harassment.
The more severe the workplace harassment, the less pervasive it needs to be. Likewise, the more pervasive the workplace harassment, the less severe it needs to be.
The strongest cases involve both severe and pervasive harassment.
There is no "magic number" that creates a hostile work environment claim. But, only rare cases involve a single incident.
Examples of severe single incidents that can create a hostile work environment include workplace rape, sexual assault or other physical violence motivated by sex, race, or another protected classification.
Examples of pervasive conduct that can result in a hostile work environment include frequent or widespread:
- Use of racially derogatory words, phrases, or epithets
- Comments about skin color or other racial/ethnic characteristics
- Negative remarks about gender, religious beliefs, or age
- Negative stereotyping based on national origin
- Derogatory or intimidating references about mental or physical impairments
The fear of losing your job can be a powerful, silencing force. Don't let this happen to you.
An experienced Atlanta hostile work environment lawyer can be your advocate when there is none in your workplace.
We will provide you with answers to your questions. We will make sure your rights and personal security are protected each step of the way.
Contact us for a free consultation.
