The term “hostile work environment” seems like it should be self-explanatory. If an employee goes to work every day and is treated with great disrespect or harassed by colleagues, she would not be remiss in describing her work environment as hostile. However, “hostile work environment” has an extremely specific meaning in employment law. First, the harassment the worker endures must be so severe and persistent that it interferes with her ability to perform her work. This is a fairly high bar – having a supervisor who is merely rude or coworkers who occasionally make insulting comments is not considered enough to stop a reasonable employee from carrying out her job duties. Even if an employee can show this level of harassment, she must also be able to prove that she was harassed for a discriminatory reason.
If your company has been threatened with a hostile work environment claim, you should contact an experienced Lisle, IL commercial litigation attorney. A lawsuit that is unlikely to succeed can still cause trouble for your small business, especially if it attracts media attention. All discrimination-based claims should be handled with care by a skilled lawyer.