The Hostility Issue AKA The Hostile Work Environment
I frequently get telephone calls from disgruntled employees who believe they work in a hostile work environment. Many times an employee tells me of their “Type A” personality boss who has worked his or her way into a position of authority in the workplace and runs his or her office with an iron fist. I will call the person of authority the "bossy boss." The bossy boss believes anger, fear, and outbursts are the best way to motivate and will frequently raise their voice in an effort to strike the proper tone. To make matters worse the bossy boss is usually uneven. One day a confusion or an error by an employee receives a simple clarification and correction, but the next day the same confusion or error receives a series of threats and insults and a vein popping display from bossy boss which leaves the employee in a state of shock.
Frequently by the time the employee is calling me he or she is about to go on stress leave and has four of the five signs of post traumatic stress disorder. The employee calls me because he or she want to sue their employer for allowing a hostile work environment. Before I address the bossy boss situation I will briefly describe the oft misunderstood term “hostile work environment.”
The term “hostile work environment” arises out of the body of laws which prohibit sexual harassment at work. Sexual harassment is verbal, physical, or sexual behavior directed at an individual because of his or her gender. It consists of any unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. The question frequently arises, when do words alone arise to the level of sexual harassment. The answer involves the famous “hostile work environment.”
The “hostile work environment,” also called the “abusive working environment,” is a term created by Judges used to describe behavior that crosses the line from mere speech to illegal and actionable sexual harassment. The California Supreme Court describes the line as follows, the harassment complained of must be “sufficiently severe or pervasive so as to alter the conditions of employment and create an abusive working environment.” Aguilar v. Avis Rent a Car System, Inc. Other Judges have interchanged the words “abusive” and “hostile” in describing this sexually charged working environment. However the elements are the same; severe or pervasive sexually oriented conduct and a working environment that is somehow changed and altered as a result of the conduct. When both are present we have the “hostile work environment.” In recent years the same term has been used to describe harassment based on other protected characteristics including religion, race, national origin and in California
What about our bossy boss. Is threatening your subordinate employee legal? Can a boss yell at his or her employee until the employee has to seek stress leave? Does the stressed out employee have any legal options? It depends. Unfortunately California
