New York Hostile Work Environment

New York City Hostile Work Environment Lawyers Explain Your Rights

Not everyone loves their job. While coworkers aren’t legally obligated to be kind, patient and supportive. Personality conflicts, poor managerial styles and interpersonal conflicts are not protected by Federal and State Laws. If, however, your work environment has become hostile to the point of rendering you incapable of doing your job or has caused demonstrable psychological damage, you may be the victim of a “hostile work environment.” If this be the case, act immediately. Under New York State and New York City employment laws, there is a limited amount of time in which a victimized employee can bring a claim against his or her employer. Unsure what qualifies as an illegally hostile work environment? Review the information on this page and contact a trusted NYC hostile work environment lawyer at the Arcé Law Group. Call (866) 426-7182 to have your case reviewed.

What is a Hostile Work Environment in New York City?

On a most basic level, everyone is entitled to a safe, non-discriminatory and fair work environment. Federal and New York City employment laws are in place to ensure employee safety.

First and foremost, under New York City law, a hostile work environment claim is rarely awarded as the result of a single incident. It must be based on the cumulative effects of a number of persistent incidents.

Legally, a workplace qualifies as “hostile” if the following two criteria are met:

• A workplace is permeated with discriminatory intimidation severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of the employee’s employment.
• There is a specific basis for attributing the conduct in question to the employer.

Notice that the discriminatory behavior can be severe OR pervasive — as opposed to severe AND pervasive. In order to qualify as a valid claim, the behavior must only meet one of the criteria. It needs to be severe OR it needs to be pervasive. It need not be both.

Five Factors Used to Determine a NYC Hostile Work Environment Claim

Under New York State law, there are five factors that are used to determine whether the environment in which an employee is working qualifies as legally “hostile.” If you believe that what you are experiencing qualifies as a hostile work environment and are unsure whether to contact a New York City employment attorney at the Arcé Law Group, review the below factors in relation to what you’re experiencing.

Hostile Work Environment Determination Factors:

• Frequency of the discriminatory behavior
• Severity of the discriminatory behavior
• Whether the behavior was physically threatening or humiliating
• Whether the behavior unreasonably interferes with a worker’s performance at work
• Whether any psychological harm resulted from the behavior. If so, what was the extent of the harm.