Harassment becomes unlawful when it’s tied to a protected characteristic, like your race, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, medical condition, or disability. This kind of harassment also has to be severe, or happen often enough, to affect your ability to do your job. A single serious incident can be enough on its own, and a pattern of smaller incidents can build a case too. If the mistreatment you’re experiencing isn’t connected to who you are in one of those protected ways, California may still call it bullying, but that treatment might not meet the legal definition of harassment.
If you’re not sure which one describes your situation, keep reading, or reach out to us directly and we’ll help you sort through what’s happening.
You Know When Something Feels Wrong
Most employees know when something at work has crossed a line. What’s harder to know is whether that line is just painful, or whether it’s actually against the law. So many people carry that question for weeks or months, unsure if they’re overreacting or if anyone would even believe them. We want you to have a clearer picture of where that legal line sits, so you can trust what you’re feeling and know what your next step could look like.
What Separates Rude Behavior From Unlawful Harassment
Harassment crosses into unlawful territory when it’s focused on or based on a protected characteristic, like your gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, sex, medical condition, or disability. For a claim to hold up in California, that conduct also needs to be severe or pervasive enough that it gets in the way of your ability to do your job or the opportunities you’re entitled to at work. Bullying that isn’t connected to any of those protected characteristics can still be exhausting and unfair to live through. It just may not be something the law recognizes as harassment.
Many employers try to argue that a single incident isn’t enough to build a case, but that’s not entirely accurate. A single incident can be enough if it’s severe. However, a pattern of harassing conduct, like repeated offensive comments, jokes, slurs, or derogatory material in the workplace, tends to be easier to prove because there’s more evidence to point to.
Does It Matter Who Is Doing the Harassing
If the person harassing you is your supervisor, manager, or boss, your employer faces strict liability for that conduct. If the harasser is a coworker at your same level, you can still bring a complaint, but proving your case may look a little different. Sex and gender based harassment are the most common complaints we see in our practice, with employees being singled out and subjected to derogatory, offensive comments because of their sex or gender.
When You’re Not Sure Where You Stand
Many employees believe that being bullied or ganged up on by coworkers automatically means they’re facing harassment or a hostile work environment. But if the people treating you poorly share your same gender, race, national origin, or age group, and you’re not being targeted because of a protected characteristic, that treatment likely won’t meet the legal definition of harassment. That doesn’t make what you’re going through any less painful or unfair. It just means the path forward may look different.
The reverse happens just as often. Sometimes employees assume they don’t have a claim, when they actually do. An older employee who gets pushed out might not think to ask whether the person who replaced them was younger, which could point toward age discrimination. Details like these are easy to overlook without sitting down with an employment law attorney who knows what to look for.
When Bullying Can Still Lead to a Legal Claim
Some employees are bullied or mobbed at work in a way that isn’t connected to a protected characteristic at first. But when that treatment is severe enough that it leads to a mental breakdown or emotional trauma, and the employee discloses that suffering to their employer, that disclosure can place them in a protected category. If the employer then retaliates or discriminates against the employee after that disclosure, a claim may exist. The employee may also be entitled to workers compensation or medical treatment connected to what the workplace put them through.
This is why documentation and disclosure matter so much. If you’re being harassed, bullied, or mobbed at work and you feel like you’re reaching a breaking point emotionally, document what’s happening and report it to your employer. Disclosing a mental or physical condition tied to your treatment at work is often what places you in a protected class. Disclosure alone isn’t enough though. You also need medical documentation to support your claim, so seeking treatment and putting your employer on notice matters just as much.
What Your Employer Is Required to Do
Once your employer is on notice that you feel harassed, they’re required to investigate, and that investigation has to be prompt and fair. Employers are also required to provide harassment training to their employees. A real investigation has to be timely and free of bias. Your employer has to genuinely look into what happened, talk to the relevant witnesses, and hear both sides of the story before reaching a decision meant to protect everyone involved. If your employer fails to act on a legitimate harassment complaint, they can be held liable for failing to take corrective action.
What to Do if You Think You’re Experiencing Harassment
If you believe you’re being harassed at work, report it to HR or to management. You have employee rights, and disclosing what’s happening gives your employer the opportunity to investigate and take appropriate action. As you go through this, write down and quote exactly what’s being said or done to you, the specific comments, the jokes, the individual incidents. Having that documentation helps support your complaint if your case moves forward.
Some employees consider recording conversations if they feel they’re being harassed. California requires consent from everyone involved before you can legally record a conversation, so recording without that consent could create legal problems of its own. This isn’t a safe way to build your case on your own.
If you believe you’re a victim of harassment at work, reach out to an employment law attorney as soon as you can. The earlier you talk to someone, the sooner you can get guidance through a situation that can otherwise feel scary and isolating to face alone.
Disclaimer
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every situation is different. Consult with a qualified employment law attorney to discuss the details of your case.
Request a Free Consultation
If you believe you’re experiencing harassment at work, you don’t have to figure out where the line is on your own. Request a Free Consultation with the Law Office of Nancyrose Hernandez, serving employees throughout Southern California, including Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Corona, Riverside, as well as San Diego and Los Angeles counties.