How to Prove a Hostile Work Environment: 10 Top Signs and Tips

Last Updated on December 28, 2023 by Daniel Boyce

What is a Hostile Work Environment?

Generally speaking, a workplace is called a hostile environment when it creates a “toxic” working environment.

A toxic environment is one where people feel uncomfortable, unsafe, scared, or intimidated.

This can happen because of things like bullying, harassment, discrimination or even just being ignored.

But what establishes a hostile work environment is often personal.

Under federal law, employers are required to provide employees with a safe and healthy place to work.

If they fail to do so, they could face hefty fines. Anti-discrimination laws also prevent retaliation against whistleblowers in a hostile work environment to allow an investigation to take place. 

In some cases, courts might say that a single isolated incident doesn’t constitute a hostile work environment.

For example, a supervisor telling someone that he looks stupid might not be enough to make out a claim.

However, if the same person makes repeated comments about how dumb the employee is, those might be grounds for a lawsuit.

This study showed that hostile behaviors or a toxic work environment can negatively affect employee engagement.

It can also spread quickly once someone has confirmed they are in a toxic work environment, leaving employees not feeling like working anymore.

If you want to know whether your workplace qualifies as a hostile environment, there are ways to figure it out.

You can ask the employer directly, or talk to a lawyer.

Top Signs and Tips of a Hostile Work Environment

In most cases, proving that you are being discriminated against because of your gender, race, religion, national origin, age, disability, or sexual orientation requires evidence of discrimination.

In some states, however, there are additional legal requirements that must be met to prove hostile work environment harassment.

The law defines a hostile work environment claim as one where “an employee experiences unwelcome conduct based on sex, race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, genetic characteristics, medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, sex stereotypes, status as a person with a disability, age, sexual orientation, parental status, marital status or association with a protected veteran.

Harassment occurs when a supervisor creates a hostile working environment, even if it does not interfere with an individual’s ability to do his or her job effectively.

A hostile environment exists when an employer allows employees to be subjected to unwanted verbal abuse, intimidation, ridicule, insult, and humiliation, and/or creates a dangerous or offensive workplace.

If you believe that you are experiencing a hostile work environment, you must file a complaint within 180 days of the discriminatory act.

You cannot wait longer than 180 days to file a claim.

If you are unable to resolve the situation informally, you may choose to file a formal charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

You may want to consult an attorney before filing a complaint.

An EEOC employment lawyer can help you draft a complaint that meets federal standards and provides enough information to support your case.

He or she can also advise you about how to proceed with your case, including whether you should take your complaints to court.

The EEOC has set up a toll-free number for people to call for assistance. Call 800-669-4000.

1. Discrimination

Discrimination occurs when someone treats you unfairly because of your race, color, religion or national origin, sex, pregnancy, age (40 or older), or genetic information.

Discrimination can occur in many ways – including being denied employment, housing, credit, education, public benefits, jury duty or even getting married.

If someone comments on your appearance or behavior because of your race, color, religion, or national origin, it could be considered workplace harassment.

This includes comments that make fun of your appearance, ask personal questions about your life or tell you how you look compared to others.

Harassment isn’t limited to just verbal comments either.

Actions like staring, following you around, touching you inappropriately, or making unwanted advances toward you are examples of unwelcome conduct.

These actions don’t have to be physical; they can include things like sending text messages late into the night, calling you repeatedly, or showing up unannounced at your home.

2. Document the Hostile Workplace Environment

Write down anything you hear, see, read, or otherwise observe about the workplace culture.

This includes things like derogatory jokes, sexist remarks, racist language, bullying, or discriminatory practices.

Write down dates, times, people involved, places, and descriptions. Keep a log for a few weeks.

After you have written down each event, ask yourself whether it constitutes harassment.

Is it unwelcome conduct based on sex, gender identity, racial slurs, religion, age, disability, or national origin?

Does it affect your ability to perform your job? Did it occur because of your gender, race, disability, or national origin?

Do you believe that it is retaliatory? Are you afraid of retaliation?

3. Get a Copy of the Company Policy

Employers are required to issue written records of their workplace policies.

These documents include everything from a company dress code to sexual harassment guidelines.

They are often referred to as “employee manuals,” and it’s important to know what those policies say because they can help you build a strong case against your employer.

When you’re working with an employment attorney, make sure to ask for copies of the company’s policies and procedures.

You might want to request them during discovery, too, since many employers won’t voluntarily provide them unless forced to do so.

If you don’t obtain them, however, you could lose some of the leverage you’ve built up throughout the legal process.

4. Retain all Communications and Harassment

Harassment takes many forms, but it often begins with verbal abuse. This includes everything from name-calling to threats, intimidation, stalking, and even death threats.

In some cases, harassment involves physical violence.

Regardless of how severe the harassment is, there are steps you can take to preserve evidence of what happened.

These include making or sending copies of any communication that is threatening or abusive, including voicemails, letters, emails, texts, etc.

You should remember that these types of threats don’t necessarily have to be made by your employer; if someone has threatened you at your place of employment or elsewhere, those threats are just as important.

Regardless of where it occurs, harassment is illegal and shouldn’t be tolerated.

When it happens in the workplace, it’s important to report it immediately.

But even if no one reports harassment, employers should still document it.

This helps protect employees against retaliation.

And if you see evidence of harassment while working, make sure to preserve all formal communications related to the single incident.

This includes voicemail messages, letters, memos, texts, and email correspondence.

5. Hostile Becomes Aggressive

When we think about workplace aggression, we often imagine physical violence — punching, kicking, throwing things, etc.

But there are many forms of aggression that don’t involve physical contact.

They include verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, sabotage, gossiping, spreading rumors, blaming others, and being cruel to people.

Aggression can look like a verbal attack, spiteful comments, and cruelty toward someone in general, such as calling someone “stupid,” insulting a colleague’s appearance or mocking his/her accent.

Your boss can constantly be making you feel incompetent and unable to work. 

If you’re seeing that, workplace hostility likely exists. And if you feel unsafe, take immediate action.

Don’t wait until tomorrow. You may be able to stop the situation from escalating further.

6. Get Confirmation of Company Awareness

The goal of any sexual harassment investigation is to find out whether the accused person knew about the offensive behavior and did nothing to stop it.

If you report the harassment to the employer within 180 days, there will likely be evidence of awareness of the situation.

If you decide to report harassment, you must have evidence that management was aware of what happened.

If you don’t document the fact that you told your boss about the problem, you won’t be able to prove that he knew about it.

You’ll also want to obtain documentation showing that you followed up with HR and/or your manager to let him know about the issue.

You might find it helpful to keep notes about everything that happens during the process.

These notes could include anything from emails that you send to your manager or HR department, to memos or letters that you write to anyone involved in the incident.

You may want to start collecting evidence by documenting the date, time, and place of each meeting or conversation during which you notified management about what was happening.

You should keep track of every instance in which you told someone in charge about the problem.

7. Have Someone Witness

If you experience harassment, there are several things you can do to document the event.

You can take photos, record videos, write down notes, etc. These actions help build evidence for your case.

You can also ask someone else to witness the harassment.

This could be a friend, family member, coworker, neighbor, etc.

Their testimony helps strengthen your case because it provides corroborating evidence that you weren’t imagining things.

Documenting the harassment allows you to tell your story to law enforcement officials.

Law enforcement agencies often use the evidence collected during investigations to bring charges against perpetrators. T

hey may even decide to prosecute the individual themselves.

You can also include the information in your forensic notebook along with any other information you collect.

You’ll have access to this information whenever you’re ready to report the incident to law enforcement.

8. Document As Much As You Can

Documenting everything is essential in proving a case against an employer.

It is important to remember that even minor incidents can add up over time and help build a strong case.

If there are no witnesses, gather information about the incident from others who saw it happen.

In addition, keep records of the date and time of each occurrence, including a description of the behavior, along with anything else that might shed light on the situation.

Even if it is the first instance, documenting every single occurrence helps form a pattern of harassment.

For example, if someone comments on your appearance or weight, record that fact.

Then, if something similar happens again later, note it down.

It could be that one person did it, but if several people observe the same thing happening, it becomes easier to prove that the behavior is common knowledge.

9. Document Effect on Health, Performance, or Income

In many cases, employers do not want to pay out large sums of money because they believe that they did nothing wrong.

However, there are ways to establish that the alleged harasser caused damage to your career.

One example is to save any job performance reviews that you receive from your job.

You may be able to use these documents to prove that the offensive conduct affected your ability to perform at work.

If you seek medical or mental health treatment for stress or anxiety-related issues around the same time that the harassing behavior started, you may be able to use those documents to support your claim.

Finally, you can gather evidence by asking your employer about any disciplinary actions taken against you during the period when the alleged harassing behavior took place.

This study found that a hostile work environment can directly impact productivity.

10. Pursue Legal Advice

The advice above is just one way to find out what type of attorney you want to hire for your particular situation.

You can also seek legal advice through a reputable online referral service like Yelp or Angie’s List.

These sites allow people to post reviews about attorneys and businesses.

If you are looking for a specific type of attorney, you can use keywords to narrow down your search.

For instance, if you are looking for a family law attorney, you could search for a “family law attorney.”

If you do decide to call an attorney yourself, it is important to remember that you are hiring someone to represent you in court.

This person must practice within the state where you live and work.

Therefore, make sure you know exactly where you live and how much experience the attorney has worked in your area.

Also, ask questions during your initial meeting to ensure you understand the process and costs involved.

Take Action

A hostile work environment claim occurs when one person makes another feel unwelcome, uncomfortable or threatened based on gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, or sexual orientation.

Employers must take steps to prevent and address harassment.

If you think you’re experiencing a hostile work environment, follow the advice in this article to help resolve this problem.

If you believe you’re experiencing a hostile work environment, contact your supervisor immediately.

If you don’t resolve the situation with your employer, you may want to consult an attorney.