You may be considering whether or not you have a claim for workplace harassment against an employer who has made your work experience unpleasant. As always when it comes to the law, it depends.

Of course, everyone should be able to work in an environment that is fair, full of opportunity and free from discrimination. As an employee, you have rights, and those rights are protected under the law. Everyone deserves an opportunity to work in a workplace that is fair, and where employers do not harass workers or discriminate against them.

According to federal law, harassment in the workplace is defined as consisting of unwelcome physical or verbal conduct that is based on specific legally protected characteristics, referred to as “protected classes.” These include race, color, national origin, religion, age (if you are over 40), physical or mental disability, or sex, including sexual orientation or gender identity.

A single offhand action or comment is unlikely to be considered harassing conduct, however. Not everything you find offensive is against the law. To be considered harassment, the conduct in question has to be objectively offensive, and sufficiently serious or pervasive enough to create a severely negative, intimidating or hostile work environment for the employee. The conduct has to be severe enough to result in a negative change to an employee’s status, which can include termination, demotion, a reduction in hours, or any number of other possible repercussions. The perpetrator can be anyone in the workplace, not just supervisors and managers. It can even be a co-worker, contractor or vendor. And the victim can be anyone who suffers from the effects of the conduct, even if he/she is not the intended recipient of the harassing conduct.

Likewise, not every firing that you perceive as unfair can be considered a “wrongful termination” under the law. For termination to be wrongful, the employer must have discharged the employee for reasons that are clearly illegal. Unfortunately, unless there is a specific bargaining agreement or employment contract in place, most employees are covered by a concept called “employment at will,” which means employees can quit and employers can terminate employees without reason. That makes proving that the firing was illegal a bit more difficult.

Under federal and Florida state laws, there are a few statutory restrictions regarding when an employee can be fired, however. For example, employees may not be fired for discriminatory reasons, if they belong to any of the protected classes listed above. They also cannot be fired for filing a legal complaint against the employer, or for being a whistleblower. They also cannot be fired for taking time off work for several legally protected reasons. For example, employees are entitled to unpaid leave for jury service. They are entitled to up to five years’ leave to serve in the federal military or the Florida National Guard, with the right to reinstatement with full benefits when they return, and they are not allowed to be terminated for a year after their return. Certain qualifying workers are also entitled to up to 12 weeks off under the Family and Medical Leave without fear of termination.

If you believe you have been the victim of harassment or wrongful termination, especially if you believe it is because you belong to a protected class, you may have grounds for a lawsuit, and you should contact a qualified employment law attorney to help you.

References

http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/crc/2011-workplace-harassment.htm

http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/understanding-workplace-harassment-fcc-staff

http://www.wrongfulterminationlaws.com/resources/wrongful-termination-law/state-job-termination-laws/florida.htm

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