Philadelphia Hostile Work Environment

Lawful Vs. Unlawful Employment Discrimination in Philadelphia

Nearly all 50 states are “employment at will” states. This statute states that it is entirely legal to fire an employee for any reason, so long as the reason is not based on any form of illegal discrimination. Therefore, sadly, it is not illegal for a manager or supervisor to treat his or her staff poorly — so long as the poor treatment doesn’t violate discrimination laws.

What qualifies as discrimination? In order to qualify as discriminatory behavior, actions must be taken as a result of an employee’s age, gender, race, national origin, color, religion or disability (including pregnancy). Unless the treatment you are receiving can be proven to be a direct reaction to any of these factors, it likely does not constitute discrimination and will not qualify as a hostile work environment.

What is Hostile Work Environment Criteria? Our Phialdelphia Attorneys Explain

Determining whether you have a solid hostile work environment case is best done by an experienced Philadelphia employment discrimination attorney. If you believe you are being subjected to a work environment that is so hostile that you are incapable of doing your job or live in fear of going to work daily, contact a respected lawyer at Arce Law Group today. If you’re unsure as to whether what you are experiencing constitutes illegal hostile behavior, review the criteria below.

• You are being subjected to harassment and/or discrimination based on age, race, national origin, color, religion or disability.
• The harassment and/or discrimination your are experiencing is severe enough that it affects your ability to complete your job appropriately or causes fear about showing up at work every day.
• Any reasonable person would perceive the work environment as hostile and/or intimidating.
• You have reason to believe that you have no choice but to endure the hostility in order to keep your job.

Often times, an employer will take actions which are designed to make an employee quit in order to avoid paying unemployment settlements. If you have found that your supervisor or management personnel have written you up for rules you did not break, reduced your hours, scheduled you for abnormal shifts and/or reduced your salary, this might be the case. Additionally, employees who have recently attempted to join a union, reported a safety violation, complained to upper management about wages or salary or have acted on behalf of a coworker’s mistreatment.

On a very basic level, you are likely experiencing an illegally hostile work environment if you are being treated poorly as a direct result of having taken any of the following actions.

• Complaining about sexual harassment
• Complaining about employment discrimination on the basis of sex, age, race, disability, etc.
• Complaining about not receiving equal pay
• Complaining about FMLA and disability claims or pregnancy discrimination
• Complaining about wage changes and failure to pay overtime wages
• Complaining about sexual harassment
• Complaining about working conditions on behalf of others