Understanding Employee Harassment

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that harassment is a form of discrimination and will not be tolerated. It goes on to state that any unwelcome verbal or physical conduct based on sex, race or religion as well as harassment against the disabled is unconstitutional and punishable by law. This sort of discrimination occurs many times through employee harassment where one person or a group of people threaten, demean, harass or intimate a co-worker. In order to file a harassment complaint regarding the Civil Rights Act, one must follow a complete set of guidelines to see if this harassment falls under the Civil Rights Act category.

In order to be placed under that Act, the harassment of the employee must consist of direct derogatory statements aimed specifically at a person’s race, gender, sexual preference or religious choices. Though considered unacceptable, teasing, off-handed comments or one-time incidences do not fall under the discrimination harassment category.

If you or a co-worker is dealing with a Civil Rights Act violation, you should go directly to Human Resources to make them aware of the situation. These types of issues are never taken lightly, especially in situations of discrimination. Most companies will not tolerate this type of behavior from another employee and it usually is grounds for immediate termination if the statements of harassment are severe and dangerous enough.

Although your complaints may not be directly related to the Civil Rights Act, employment harassment will not be tolerated in any respectable place of business and you have the right and the obligation to make your Human Resources department aware of any abuse or harassment issues that you have experienced personally or witnessed from another co-worker. Going to a person in a position of authority like a manager or a supervisor with concrete, written proof of the incident or incidences is exactly what you should do. If a co-worker has said or written things about you that are demeaning or degrading, or completely untrue, that classifies as employee harassment and, if well founded, the harasser should be immediately reprimanded. You are not alone when dealing with employee harassment. There are several places you can go to help you with your situation.