At the Leichter Law Firm, APC, the Los Angeles employment law attorney, Aryeh Leichter, knows all California employees are protected from workplace harassment.
The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits harassment based on a protected category against an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a contractor.
Harassment is prohibited in all California workplaces, no matter the number of employees.
What Constitutes a Hostile Work Environment in California?
The legal requirement to identify a hostile work environment requires three factors to be true:
- The coworker or employer’s behaviors create a discriminatory environment;
- The discriminatory environment impacts the affected person’s ability to work; and
- A reasonable person would find the environment intimidating or abusive.
The easier way to identify workplace harassment is that the harassing actions and/or behaviors must be severe or pervasive.
When harassment is sexual in nature, the actions/behaviors may include but are not limited to unwelcome touching, grabbing, remarks, jokes, drawings, and requests for sexual favors. The second condition is that the employee must prove that the employer has been engaging in unwelcome sexual advances toward the employee. It is essential for the employer’s behavior or conduct to be unwelcome and offensive to a reasonable person.
When the harassment is based on age, race, religion, gender, pregnancy, or a disability, it may include derogatory comments so severe and constant that the working environment has become hostile, intimidating, or offensive.
For an employer’s behavior to be considered “severe or pervasive,” the employee can help build his or her case by providing information regarding the nature of the conduct, frequency, number of days, and context.
Contact the Leichter Law Firm, APC Hostile Work Environment Attorney in Los Angeles, California
Contact Aryeh Leichter, the Leichter Law Firm, APC founder and employment law attorney in Los Angeles County today to discuss the legal remedies that may be available for your unique workplace circumstances today, starting with a free consultation by calling 818-915-6624 or contacting the firm online.