Types of Harassment in the Workplace and How to Spot Them

According to a 2023 Workplace Discrimination Poll, 91% of workers face some form of discrimination on the job. So, how do you know if what you’re experiencing at work is a violation of your legal rights… or just bullying? Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964defines the different unlawful types of harassment at work. And this federal law is also what determines if you have a valid employment law claim against your employer.

If you think you’re treated unfairly at work, keep reading to learn what counts as unlawful harassment in the workplace. That way, you can easily spot when a coworker or supervisor crosses the line and violates your rights at work.

Unlawful Types of Harassment in the Workplace: Key Takeaways

• Anti-discrimination laws are designed to help help protect workers from harassment in the workplace based on someone’s race, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or certain other protected characteristics.
• In general, a single incident of offensive speech or behavior does not count as unlawful harassment unless it’s severe.
• Filing a claim for unfair treatment at work requires reporting it to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in a timely manner. An employment attorney can review your case for free and advise you of which deadlines may apply to you.
• Understanding the “reasonable person” legal concept is crucial in determining if someone’s conduct is intimidating, hostile, or abusive.
• Employers are responsible for providing a safe work environment for employees, which includes taking corrective action against toxic behavior. Failing to do so puts employers at risk for lawsuits under the respondeat superior doctrine.

What Is Harassment?

Harassment is inappropriate, unwelcome conduct based on someone’s:

• Accent or native language
• Genetic information (such as your family medical history)
• Religion
• Age (for people at least 40 years old)
• National origin or ethnicity
• Disability status
• Gender identity
• Sexual orientation
• Compensation rate

Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws That Protect Workers

When this behavior happens at work, it may constitute unlawful job discrimination under the following federal laws:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which applies to any business with at least 15 employees.
• Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which applies to private employers with at least 20 employees and all state or local government workers.
• Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (amended), which covers all federal employees and contractors.
• ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which covers any business with at least 15 employees.

Unlawful Types of Harassment in the Workplace That May Count As Employment Discrimination

1. Harassment Based on Protected Characteristics

Inappropriate comments can meet the definition of unlawful harassment in the workplace if they’re severe, threatening, or pervasive. Below are some examples that involve protected characteristics listed under Title VII. Employers must prohibit harassment based on race, gender identity, color, religion, and national origin in order to maintain a respectful work environment.

If such conduct does occur, employees should report harassment to their human resources department or supervisor right away. Then, it falls on the employer to take action that ensures a workplace free of harassing behavior.

Racial Harassment Based On Someone’s Ethnicity, Color, or National Origin

Racial discrimination in the workplace is illegal, so what does racial harassment actually look like? Here are just a few examples:

• Derogatory comments, questions, or jokes involving stereotypes based on a person’s race, national origin, or ethnicity.
• Teasing a coworker about their hairstyle, accent, style of dress, cultural heritage, national origin, or skin color.
• Engaging in microaggressions, like touching someone’s hair or using a nickname that’s “easier to pronounce” in English.
• Displaying written materials or items that feature racist imagery or symbols at work.

If this happens to you, learn the benefits of hiring a race discrimination lawyer.

Disability Harassment Based on Someone’s Assumed Physical, Mental, or Cognitive Abilities

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal law that protects employees with medical issues that affect their daily lives. As a result, most employers must provide reasonable accommodations for affected workers who request them. And businesses must also strive to prevent unfavorable treatment of employees with physical and mental impairments, even invisible ones.

Despite these efforts, both overt and subtle microaggressions against disabled people in the workplace can happen. And these behaviors can create a toxic job atmosphere for people dealing with such medical conditions.

Here are a few examples:

• Choosing work sites or meeting locations that are inaccessible or difficult to navigate for people with mobility issues.
• Hiring less qualified applicants over candidates that might request reasonable accommodations, like flexible work schedules or special equipment.

And when it comes to workplace harassment based on someone’s physical or mental disability, it can also take many forms:

• Harassment can include exclusion, incorrect assumptions about a person’s abilities, and other forms of discriminatory conduct that can create a hostile work environment.
• Disability harassment can also involve inappropriate comments, offensive jokes, and behavior that mocks or ridicules an employee’s health condition.

Religious Harassment Based on Religion, Creed, or Lack of Faith

Religious harassment involves targeting a person’s faith (or lack thereof), which is another protected characteristic under Title VII. This type of discriminatory harassment can happen when one employee doesn’t share the same religious beliefs as the majority of their coworkers.

Offensive workplace behavior that may constitute harassment based on someone’s religious beliefs can include:

• Derogatory remarks about a coworker’s religious holidays, traditions, customs, or beliefs
• Pressuring coworkers or direct reports to convert or adopt your faith’s traditions and customs
• Inappropriate jokes or stereotypical assumptions about someone’s religion

Age Discrimination (Ageism) Against Workers Aged 40+

The ADEA is a federal law that protects workers who are at least 40 years old from job-related age discrimination. Of all types of harassment workers can experience on the job, ageism is incredibly prevalent in the United States. The 2024 State of Ageism in the Workplace report shows that 90% of workers surveyed experienced ageism.

Age-related discrimination under the ADEA is defined as someone over 40 experiencing one of the following:

• Paid less than younger employees hired to work in the same positions
• Rejected for a job or promotion they’re qualified for solely due to the employee’s age
• Fired and replaced with a younger employee

However, there are some important limitations to keep in mind:

• Only employers with at least 20 employees must follow ADEA guidelines
• The ADEA states that independent contractors do not count as employees
• Workers over 40 replaced by someone older don’t have a valid claim

Important: To have a prima facie case of workplace age discrimination, you must show your employer had no valid reason for taking action. Replacing a 60-year-old manager with a 42-year old candidate who earns less money would be one valid example.

Gender-Based Harassment Based On Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity

Gender discrimination means that someone is treated worse because of their sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation. These traits are protected characteristics under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. However, some state laws (like California) offer stronger protections and cover more workers from gender-based harassment.

Here are some examples showing how gender discrimination at work can happen:

• Your company only hires women for certain positions, or pays female employees less than men in identical roles.
• Refusing to promote employees in same-sex marriages or anyone who doesn’t present as traditionally male or female in appearance.
• Letting pregnant employees go without cause directly before or during their rightfully earned maternity leave.
• Ignoring offensive comments, name calling, or pranks that only target transgender workers.

2. Personal Harassment

When someone singles out a specific worker to ridicule or shame them based on the employee’s personality, looks, or work, that’s personal harassment. However, unlike most types of harassment listed here, this one isn’t necessarily illegal. You should still report incidents of personal abuse at work if they target you or another person’s appearance, beliefs, or behavior.

3. Different Types of Sexual Harassment at Work

Sexual harassment at work is unlawful and creates a hostile work environment, despite being the most common form of abuse. And statistically, this discriminatory behavior impacts 54% of women in the workplace at some point.

Here are some sexual harassment examples that victimize people of all genders at work:

• Asking unwelcome questions about a coworker’s sex life or partner history
• Making unwanted sexual advances or lewd gestures
• Making offensive comments or jokes about someone’s body parts, sexual preferences, or appearance
• Sharing or sending sexually suggestive videos, memes, images, or emails
• Unwanted touching of a sexual nature, such as rubbing up against a coworker, pinching them, hugging, or kissing
• Staring in a lewd manner or whistling at coworker
• Sexual assault

Quid Pro Quo Harassment

When someone in a position of power demands sexual favors in exchange for a work benefit, it becomes quid pro quo harassment. “Quid pro quo” is Latin and translates to “this for that” or “something for something.” In other words, you do me a favor, and I’ll do you a favor. Importantly, though, only a supervisor, manager, or someone who’s above you in the company reporting structure can engage in quid pro quo harassment.

Here are some examples that help explain how quid pro quo harassment works:

• Requests for sexual favors in exchange for a job, promotion, or pay increase
• Threatening to fire you for rejecting unwelcome sexual advances
• Restricting job offers only to applicants willing to engage in sexual conduct

4. Psychological Harassment

This form of offensive conduct is designed to harm the victim’s mental health, whether they belong to a protected class or not. When someone repeatedly uses actions or words that cause pain, annoy, or hurt people’s feelings, it may be psychological harassment.

5. Physical Harassment

There’s a fine line between unwelcome physical conduct and assault, which may depend on the incident’s severity. But physical harassment, simply put, means any physical contact with an employee that harms them or makes them uncomfortable. And if a pattern of similar behavior exists, it can certainly help strengthen your case.

Some examples of physical harassment in the workplace might include:

• Unwanted touching of an employee’s body parts, hair, or clothing
• Verbal threats of physical violence
• Aggressive horseplay between coworkers that could injure one or more people (i.e., pushing, slapping, kicking, etc.)
• Damaging someone’s personal property, even if it’s something like stealing and eating the same victim’s lunch every day

Important: If a coworker, supervisor, customer or contractor assaults you, talk to a personal injury attorney for free. Employment law and workers’ compensation attorneys do not accept those types of claims.

6. Verbal Harassment

Anyone who’s frequently rude, disrespectful or dismissive of you at work may be guilty of verbal harassment. However, unless the perpetrator is targeting someone who belongs to a protected class, it may not be illegal. Verbally harassing someone can consist of:

• Gossip or spreading rumors about certain employees
• Hurtful comments or insults
• Yelling at, belittling, or insulting a coworker every time they’re late or miss a work deadline
• Making offensive gestures towards the victim (whether that person sees it or not)
• Criticizing an employee for certain behaviors, but staying silent when others do the same exact thing

7. Third-Party Harassment

This type of harassment happens most often in public-facing businesses, like restaurants and retail stores. Third-party harassment means any type of offensive conduct towards a worker from non-employees, such as:

• Customers
• Clients
• Contractors
• Vendors

Does Your Workplace Harassment Meet the Reasonable Person Standard?

If it’s unclear whether inappropriate remarks constitute harassment, try applying the “reasonable person” standard. Would a reasonable person in the same situation would find the unwelcome behavior intimidating, threatening, or abusive? If so, then yes, it likely counts as harassment in the workplace.

Here are a couple of examples:

1. Bob, your manager, offers to take the team out for lunch for meeting your quarterly goals. Janice, the only woman you work with, suggests going to Hooters, and everyone agrees. Since no one employee finds that idea offensive, hostile or intimidating, Janice’s suggestion does not constitute harassment.
2. Your boss schedules a work conference at a beachfront resort because “I’ve always wanted to see some of you bikinis.” Angela, your coworker, turns bright red and asks if all attendees are required to wear swimsuits. “Only the ladies,” your boss replies, winking. In this instance, your boss is likely guilty of sexual harassment.

Do You Have a Hostile Work Environment Claim Against Your Employer?

Not all workplace bullying creates a hostile work environment that is legally actionable in the eyes of the law. For example: If your boss says the only way to get a bonus is to reach an impossible goal, that’s not a hostile work environment. It’s just annoying. Same for a manager that yells at everyone in the office, since it isn’t specifically targeting a protected class.

In order for you to file a hostile work environment claim and win a settlement, a few things must be true:

• Any harassing conduct must relate to the employee’s status as a member of a protected class under Title VII. This includes harassment based on the employee’s race, color, religion, age, sexual orientation or identity, and disability status.
• Any employee filing a complaint must demonstrate that the offending conduct was unwelcome. You can do this by saying something like, “Joe, please stop. Nobody thinks ‘dumb blonde’ jokes are funny any more and you’re making me uncomfortable.” But if you asked your boss to roast you on your birthday, then you probably can’t sue for inappropriate jokes.
• Your job performance is negatively impacted by the abusive behavior’s pervasiveness, frequency, or severity. In other words, you must feel threatened, humiliated, or unable to do your job as expected as a result of the abuse.
• Your employer must be legally liable for the behavior that harmed you. One example would be if a manager refuses to promote you because you’re Jewish and can’t work on Saturdays. But certain types of harassment may not qualify, like a customer calling you a slur while leaving your store. You must prove you suffered a negative work consequence in order to win financial compensation.

Talk to an Employment Attorney for Free About Your Workplace Harassment Experience

Employment cases have strict reporting requirements and filing timelines in order to win your case. To maximize your success odds, consult an employment attorney who specializes in all types of harassment claims.

LegalASAP can help you connect with an employment lawyer in your area for a free, no-obligation claim evaluation. Our national network includes hundreds of law firms located throughout the United States. If you need help, don’t suffer in silence. You don’t have to go through this alone!

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