Hostile Work Environment

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Q.  An employee at one of my company’s facilities in New York recently complained to his supervisor that his coworkers made fun of his disability. Can an employee with a disability file a “hostile work environment” claim under the Americans With Disabilities Act?

A.  On March 6, 2019, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for the first time that hostile work environment claims are available to plaintiffs under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). With its decision in Fox v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, the Second Circuit joins the Fourth, Fifth, Eighth and Tenth Circuits, which likewise have found that hostile work environment claims are cognizable under the ADA.

Q:  What does it mean to discriminate against someone based on their national origin?

A:  Title VII prohibits employers from acting in a way that would have the purpose or effect or discriminating against an employee because of his or her national origin.

But what does the term “discrimination based on national origin” really mean?

A previous post discussed a huge jury verdict for an employee who was harassed and mistreated at work due to her religion.  The lesson:  harassing an employee, subjecting her to a hostile work environment, and retaliating against her for complaining about harassment are all wrong, illegal and expensive.

A decision handed down yesterday by the federal appeals Court covering Georgia, Alabama and Florida has made that point again.  In doing so, it further explained that retaliating by creating a hostile work environment for employees who complain about discrimination also violates Title VII — and is also wrong, illegal and expensive.

Late last week, a jury in Missouri awarded $5 million in punitive damages to a woman who proved she was subjected to a hostile work environment because she converted to Islam.

According to published reports, the woman, who was a network technician for a telephone company, had been in her job for six years when she converted to Islam in 2005.  Soon after converting she was subjected to name-calling (such as “terrorist”) and being told she was “going to hell” by co-workers and managers.  A manager also pressured her to remove the hijab (head scarf) she wore to comply with her religion and even grabbed it off of her head one time.  This behavior went on for 3 years.