Your workplace should be a safe and comfortable environment, a place in which you thrive. When harassment occurs, your job becomes a thing you dread.
Harassment not only results in a lack of trust and a loss of productivity, it deeply affects your personal life. Thankfully, there are laws that protect your right to a workplace free of harassment. Here are some of the most common forms of harassment:
1. Sexual harassment
This is one type of harassment that is often in the news. Sometimes, sexual harassment is blatant, such as a coworker making a sexual advancement or a manager requesting sexual favors. However, it is often more subtle. Suggestive jokes, offensive comments and persistent requests for a date may also constitute sexual harassment.
2. Religious harassment
For many people, religion is a source of comfort and serenity. Many religions require taking certain holidays off or wearing specific clothes. Employers must reasonably accommodate any worker requests based on religion.
3. Disability harassment
Unfortunately, people with disabilities are often hit with the brunt of harassment at their jobs. The definition of a disability is constantly changing to include more conditions, so many workers have protections under the law. It is illegal for employers, employees and customers to discriminate against people with disabilities.
4. Age harassment
When workers get older, they sometimes become targets for jokes or discriminatory actions. People at work may call older employees rude names or ask then they are going to retire. The law protects employees from age harassment when they are forty years old or older.
5. LGBT harassment
Despite the recent advancements in LGBT rights, discrimination and harassment against the community is still an issue. Unfortunately, federal law does not explicitly protect the LGBT community, but some cases can be viewed as sexual harassment. There are plenty of local ordinances in Florida that protect LGBT workers.
