Orange County California Employment Attorney
Hostile Environment
Definition
A hostile work environment is created when the intimidating or demeaning behavior of others is so great as to interfere or prevent a person from participating in or realizing the intended benefits of an institutional activity, employment, or resource. There a four types of hostile environments:
- Discriminatory
- Retaliatory
- Constructive discharge
- Contract-related
- Discriminatory
When managers or co-workers constantly engage in offensive conduct toward you that is based on the categories of sex, gender, age, race, disability, religion, or even pregnancy, it is considered a discriminatory hostile environment.
Retaliation
Being impolite or unpleasant is not illegal. If an employer is consistently acting rudely or disrespectfully as a form of retaliation, however, they are breaking the law. If this behavior is pervasive enough to affect your ability to work, it may be considered a hostile work environment.
Constructive Discharge
A “constructive discharge” environment is the result of bad conduct toward an employee with the goal of encouraging them to quit their job. Employers may do this as a form of retaliation or to prevent you from gaining benefits that could be costly to the company. Constructive discharge is actually a form of wrongful termination, and is thus prohibited under existing employment laws.
Contract-Related
Contract-related problems typically concern non-competition agreements, which have been outlawed in the state of California. Contract-related hostile environments are created by employers who wish to terminate an employee, but do not want to pay out the employee’s contract. To avoid doing so, they try to build a file against the employee to justify his termination.
If you have been the victim of discrimination or a hostile environment in the workplace,
contact Orange County employment lawyer Perry Smith at 888.356.2529 to discuss your case, your rights, and further legal options.