Employee Verbal Harassment Laws
Harassment at work can come physically or verbally. Verbal harassment often goes unreported, sometimes because sufferers are unaware of the laws. Although employees are afforded the right to speak their minds, they aren't free to speak to or about a fellow employees in a derogatory manner.
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Definition
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Verbal harassment is the verbal or, in some cases, the written slurs of an employee or employer toward another employee or employer. Examples of verbal harassment include slurs that find base in gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, nationality, appearance, military status or discharges, use of tobacco products, citizenship, marital status, criminal record, occupation, necessity of public assistance, prior medical treatment, and political affiliation. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission outlines this definition.
Employee Responsibility
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Second-hand verbal harassment is also a punishable offense. If an employee is verbally harassing another employee indirectly by telling jokes when the victim is not present, the employee is still engaging in verbal harassment. A concerned employee should report the situation to be dealt with appropriately. An employee should not repeat the situation to other employees or they may also be found guilty of verbal harassment. This does not mean that employees witnessing harassment are guilty, but that the guilty party is still guilty, even when harassment is not conducted in front of the victimized employee.
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Employer Responsibility
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It is the responsibility of the employer to address reported verbal harassment. The employer may review cameras in the area the verbal harassment took place to ensure the event did occur. The employer is then responsible for pulling the employee aside to warn them about the behavior without drawing attention to the situation or setting up the guilty party for harassment themselves. Remember, it is unlawful to harass someone for harassing someone else.
Occurrence
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An employer often provides a warning to an employee regarding verbal harassment. If the employee continues his behavior after a warning, his term of employment is often terminated. This does not mean that harassment must repeat more than once before it becomes an illegal action. A single verbal harassment situation may land a harassing person in the midst of a lawsuit.
Judge Determination
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According to an article by Professor Eugene Volokh at UCLA Law School, harassment must be deemed severe enough to create a hostile work environment for the victimized employee or employer. Signs or drawings used to depict slurs may be considered a similar harassment. A judge will review the cases presented and determine if the situation described was truly harassment or a free expression of speech. Cases are often thrown out because the instances aren't aren't severe enough to be deemed verbal harassment. For example, the placement of a Star of David on the desk of a Jewish employee does not constitute harassment against an anti-Semite at the next cubicle.
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