Stop Pissing Me Off What to Do When the People You Work with Drive You Crazy by Lynne Eisaguirre Read Free Book Online

and discrimination seems to be the subject of endless workplace confusion. This is because the law sets a floor for your behavior. I call it the
    “red zone.” Most organizations have a policy that is stricter than the law requires. Further, every court in the country has held that companies can have a stricter policy and can discipline people who violate that policy even if the behavior in no way violates the law. Behavior that merely “offends” someone,
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    however, is not a legal problem. Much different standards than that must be met before it qualifies as such.
    harassMent and discriMination legal standards
    Federal laws prohibit discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on:
    n Sex or gender
    n Age (40 or over; age discrimination)
    n Race and color
    n Religion
    n National origin
    n Citizenship
    n Physical disability (this may include emotional or mental disabilities)
    n Pregnancy
    n Veteran/military status
    n Family and medical leave
    These are often referred to as “protected characteristics.”
    Harassment based on sex includes:
    n Sexual harassment
    n Gender harassment
    n Same-sex harassment
    n Harassment based on pregnancy
    If you live in California, you have some additional protection. California has perhaps the strictest laws in the country on these issues and also prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on:
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    03.   Your Workers’ Bill of Rights
    n Status as domestic violence victim
    n Medical condition or genetic characteristic
    n Ancestry
    n Marital status
    n Sexual orientation
    n Childbirth and related medical conditions
    Many people are confused about the difference between harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. Harassment is not, in fact, based on a new law but is a concept that has been around since the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It is one kind of discrimination. Discrimination is an adverse job action taken by a supervisor because of the individual’s protected characteristics (as explained in the preceding lists). Adverse job actions include failure to hire or promote; firing or a layoff; cuts in pay; a denial of salary increase; and changing other terms or conditions of employment such as hours or vacation time because of a protected characteristic.
    Retaliation is an action taken against someone for protesting, complaining, or cooperating in the investigation of discrimination or harassment. This action can include any adverse job action or physical retaliation such as physical threats, assault or battery, destruction of personal property, or stalking.
    types oF harassMent
    Harassment can be an adverse job action or physical, visual, or verbal action. In the “red zone,” there is true illegal harassment, known as quid pro quo (“this for that”). This takes the form of “you have to date me to get this job” or “you have to have sex with me to get this promotion.” This type of harassment
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    usually involves a colleague or superior leveraging job favors for sexual favors. The harasser is someone who actually has the power to grant such favors, either by express or implied threats. Quid pro quo can also be implied by repeated propositions. As the one who was harassed, you must, however, show that the harassment had some impact on your job; for instance, that you were denied an annual pay increase, laid off, or forced to quit.
    Illegal Retaliation
    Illegal retaliation is another type of harassment. In this action you are retaliated against by a supervisor, peer, subordinate, or outsiders for refusing sexual advances, for complaining about harassment or discrimination, or assisting in a claim. This retaliation can take many forms, such as demotion, poor performance appraisals, bad job assignments, termination, threats, or violence. For example, one investigation I was asked to conduct on a retaliation claim involved an employee at a high-tech company. He