Discussions of discrimination in the workplace often focus on company actions. The decision to hire certain people or terminate others could constitute discrimination if a company considers personal characteristics protected by state and federal law. If a company factors in someone’s sex when deciding who gets a promotion or who they include in the layoff, that is clearly a case of sex-based discrimination.
The rules forbidding discrimination do not just apply to workplace decisions. They also protect workers from hostile work environments and quid pro quo sexual harassment. Sexual harassment in the workplace is a form of sex-based discrimination that workers can potentially fight back against with the right support and documentation.
Companies have to protect workers from harassment
Many companies claim they have zero-tolerance policies for sexual harassment but do little to intervene when someone faces misconduct, unwanted advances or a hostile work environment. Organizations sometimes ignore reports by workers of harassment conducted by someone else at the company.
Particularly if the person mistreating others has a managerial role or is a top performer at the business, the people tasked with enforcing anti-discrimination rules, including human resources specialists, may fail to respond appropriately to allegations of harassment. Even if an entire team of workers has contributed to the situation, the business should still act quickly to address the issue.
Companies should take steps to eliminate a hostile work environment that makes someone feel unsafe on the job and to retrain or discipline those who engage in quid pro quo harassment. Quid pro quo harassment involves offering job opportunities or denying them based on whether someone provides sexual favors or allows certain types of misconduct.
Harassment can come not just from people at the company but also from customers. If an employee speaks up about their mistreatment and has documentation affirming their claims, employers should act to protect those employees. When a company ignores complaints of harassment, it has discriminated against that worker by allowing a hostile work environment to continue. Cases involving retaliation where companies punish workers for speaking up are also a form of sex-based discrimination.
Being able to recognize workplace discrimination as it occurs is generally key to someone’s ability to fight back against it. Seeking legal guidance can be an invaluable effort as well.