If you don’t win, we don’t get paid: 509-567-3465
Washington State and federal laws provide important workplace protections for Spokane employees who experience unlawful harassment or discrimination.
Harassment can involve inappropriate or offensive conduct connected to a legally protected characteristic. Depending on the circumstances, harassment may become unlawful when it is sufficiently severe and pervasive to alter an employee’s working conditions and create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.
Workplace harassment is a form of unlawful discrimination that involves unwelcome conduct directed at an individual because of a characteristic protected under Washington State or federal law.
Harassment may become unlawful when the conduct is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of employment and create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. Harassment can come from supervisors, coworkers, managers, customers, clients, or other people encountered through an employee’s work.
Washington’s primary anti-discrimination law, the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), provides protections against discrimination and harassment based on protected characteristics. Depending on the circumstances, protected categories may include:
Federal employment laws may provide additional protections depending on the employer, protected characteristic, and circumstances involved.
If you have experienced harassment related to your sex, gender, gender expression, or gender identity, you may be protected under Washington State and federal employment laws.
Gender harassment, or gender-based harassment, occurs when someone is subjected to unwelcome treatment because of their gender or gender identity. The harassment does not necessarily need to be sexual. Instead, gender harassment may involve stereotypes, insults, hostility, or different treatment based on assumptions about how people of a particular gender should look, behave, or perform their jobs.
Gender harassment can occur between coworkers, between a supervisor and subordinate, or between employees and other people they encounter in the workplace. Depending on the circumstances, employers may be responsible for failing to prevent or appropriately address unlawful harassment.
A hostile work environment may exist when discriminatory harassment is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of employment and create an abusive working environment.
Examples of conduct that may contribute to a hostile work environment include discriminatory slurs, offensive jokes, unwanted sexual comments, inappropriate touching, threatening behavior, offensive images, or repeated degrading remarks related to a protected characteristic.
Ordinary workplace disagreements, isolated annoyances, or personality conflicts generally do not constitute unlawful harassment on their own. Courts typically consider the nature, frequency, severity, and context of the conduct when determining whether a work environment has become unlawfully hostile.
Employers should take complaints of harassment seriously and respond appropriately when they know or should know that unlawful harassment may be occurring.
Employees who experience harassment because of pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions may have protections under Washington State and federal law.
Pregnancy harassment can include offensive comments about an employee’s pregnancy, repeated negative treatment because of pregnancy-related limitations, hostility toward an employee who needs pregnancy-related accommodations, or other unwelcome conduct based on pregnancy or childbirth.
Harassment may become unlawful when it is sufficiently severe or pervasive to create a hostile or abusive work environment. Discriminatory employment actions, such as termination, demotion, or denial of opportunities because of pregnancy, may also violate applicable employment laws.
The person engaging in harassment may be a supervisor, manager, coworker, customer, client, or another individual encountered through the workplace.
The Latin term quid pro quo means “something for something.”
Quid pro quo sexual harassment can occur when a supervisor, manager, or other person with workplace authority conditions an employment benefit on an employee’s acceptance of sexual conduct.
For example, a supervisor might offer or imply that an employee will receive a promotion, raise, favorable assignment, or other workplace benefit in exchange for accepting sexual advances. Quid pro quo harassment may also involve threats of termination, demotion, discipline, or other negative consequences if an employee rejects sexual conduct.
Job applicants may also experience quid pro quo harassment if hiring or other employment decisions are conditioned on accepting unwanted sexual advances.
Sexual harassment is a serious form of workplace misconduct and may violate Washington State and federal employment laws. Sexual harassment may involve:
Two commonly recognized forms of workplace sexual harassment are:
Sexual harassment does not necessarily require sexual attraction or intent. Harassment based on an employee’s sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or failure to conform to gender stereotypes may also violate applicable discrimination laws.
Workplace bullying can include repeated intimidation, humiliation, insults, threats, exclusion, or other abusive behavior. Although this conduct can make a workplace extremely difficult, bullying by itself is not necessarily unlawful discrimination or harassment.
Workplace bullying may become legally actionable when the behavior is connected to a characteristic protected by Washington State or federal law, such as race, sex, disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or age.
For example, a supervisor who treats many employees harshly may be engaging in inappropriate management practices without necessarily violating anti-discrimination laws. However, if the supervisor repeatedly targets employees of a particular race, gender, religion, or other protected group, the conduct may support a discrimination or hostile work environment claim.
Employees who believe bullying is connected to discrimination should document the conduct, including what happened, when it occurred, who witnessed it, and whether similar behavior has affected other employees.
Harassment based on race, color, ethnicity, or national origin may violate Washington State and federal employment laws.
Examples may include racial slurs, offensive stereotypes, mocking an employee’s accent, derogatory comments about someone’s ancestry or country of origin, racist images or symbols, or repeated exclusion or mistreatment based on race or national origin.
A single remark may not always be enough to establish an unlawful hostile work environment. However, repeated, threatening, humiliating, or particularly serious conduct may contribute to a workplace harassment claim.
Employers should respond promptly when they become aware of complaints involving racial or national origin harassment.
Employees with disabilities are protected by Washington State and federal anti-discrimination laws.
Disability harassment may include mocking an employee’s physical or mental disability, making degrading comments about a medical condition, using disability-related slurs, or repeatedly treating an employee negatively because of an actual or perceived disability.
Disability discrimination may also involve an employer’s failure to reasonably accommodate an employee when required by law. Depending on the circumstances, accommodations might include changes to job duties, schedules, equipment, workplace policies, or other adjustments that allow a qualified employee to perform their job.
Not every rude, unfair, or inappropriate workplace interaction qualifies as unlawful harassment. Whether conduct violates the law depends on the circumstances, including what happened, why the employee was targeted, and the seriousness and frequency of the behavior.
Factors that may support a workplace harassment claim include:
Because workplace harassment cases are highly fact-specific, employees should consider the overall pattern of conduct rather than assuming that an individual incident either automatically establishes or defeats a potential claim.
Washington employers have responsibilities under state and federal anti-discrimination laws to maintain workplaces free from unlawful discrimination and harassment.
Employers should take reasonable steps to prevent and address workplace harassment, including:
An employer’s liability may depend on factors including who committed the harassment, whether the employer knew or should have known about the conduct, and whether appropriate corrective measures were taken.
Employees may hesitate to report harassment because they fear losing their jobs or experiencing other workplace consequences. Washington State and federal laws prohibit certain forms of retaliation against employees who exercise protected workplace rights.
Protected activity may include:
Retaliation can take many forms, including termination, demotion, reduced hours, undesirable assignments, unjustified discipline, exclusion from workplace opportunities, or other adverse actions taken because an employee exercised protected rights.
A retaliation claim can be legally distinct from the underlying harassment or discrimination claim. This means an employee may potentially have a retaliation claim even when the original complaint does not ultimately establish unlawful harassment.
If you believe you are experiencing unlawful workplace harassment, consider taking steps to document and preserve information about what happened.
Depending on your circumstances, you may want to:
Employees may also have the option of filing a discrimination or harassment complaint with the Washington State Human Rights Commission (WSHRC) or the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), depending on the circumstances.
Employment claims are subject to filing deadlines that vary according to the law and type of claim involved. Employees who believe their rights have been violated should consider seeking legal advice promptly.
Workplace harassment can affect an employee’s career, financial security, and ability to feel safe at work. If harassment is connected to race, sex, pregnancy, disability, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or another legally protected characteristic, Washington or federal employment laws may provide protections.
Matern Law Group represents employees in workplace disputes involving harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, and related employment claims. Our attorneys can evaluate what happened, identify potentially applicable laws, and help you understand your legal options.
Contact Matern Law Group for a free case evaluation. Our Spokane workplace harassment lawyers can review your situation and help you determine the appropriate next steps.
Our Practices are Guided by Integrity. We’ll protect what you deserve.
We work tirelessly and fight tenaciously to hold rights abusers accountable.
If you’ve experienced a distressing incident related to an issue like this, call us for a free case evaluation.
Legal cases can be lengthy, complicated, and confusing, but you don’t have to take on the system all by yourself. If you believe someone has violated your individual rights, or the rights of a large group of people in your community, we can help you find the right course of action.
"(Required)" indicates required fields
