Colleague Harassment

Don’t even second-guess it! Any inappropriate, unwelcome and discriminatory conduct from a fellow employee is considered employee-employee harassment. Employee harassment can be seen in different ways, none of which makes employee-employee harassment less grievous or acceptable under the law. There may be a situation where a fellow employee says offensive words to you in person or that employee may have communicated said the offensive words about you to another employee or a non-employee. It could also be that that employee posted a content you personally view as offensive in a public platform, all of these instances are considered employee-employee harassment and are illegal under the law. The protection of the law in employee-employee harassment is vast as to accommodate protection of victims of employee-employee harassment who may not have been harassed directly, giving consideration mostly to the nature of the conduct itself. For example, it could be an inappropriate, offensive and sexual image shared in the office group chat.

Who Can Be Held Responsible For Employee-Employee Harassment?

Victims of employee-employee harassment are encouraged to file a claim with the employer-company, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and finally before the state civil court. Liability for an offensive or abusive employee may lie with the company itself or with the individual coworker, depending on the situation.

The courts may find an employer liable for an employee’s inappropriate actions if the company is legally responsible for harm its employees cause. If the employee was acting within the scope or his or her employment when harassing another employee, the courts will likely hold the employer responsible for damages. If the harassment happened after work, the courts will hold the individual responsible. Also, an employer will be held liable where the employer is or should have been aware of the harassment but failed to take adequate and prompt corrective measures to ensure a non-hostile work environment.

Have you been sexually harassed by your co-worker in the past? Or are you presently going through an employee-employee type of harassment or any type of harassment at all in your workplace? And have your reported these offensive conducts to your employer and your employer have failed to take quick measures to handle the situation? Call us now at DeToffol & Gittleman. We assure you that we will aggressively advocate for you and not only ensure that you are no longer harassed, but also, that you get all the compensation you deserve for the past harassments. So, for your free and confidential consultation, contact us today at (212) 962-2220.