Hostile work environments (HWEs) are one of the most painful - and unproductive - experiences anyone can have in modern corporate America.

Employers seek to prevent HWEs because they can be extremely disruptive to the work force. And HWEs carry with them potentially devastating financial liabilities. Most importantly, the human toll of HWEs is significant. Employees begin to dread coming to work. They go home drained, exhausted, and frustrated. Perhaps the most difficult feature of an HWE is knowing: is this really a HWE, or am I being too sensitive? Who can I talk to about my experiences? What are my options?

Perhaps the first thing to do if a person thinks they have a hostile work environment is to seek the advice of an expert. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is an important first step for several reasons. The first is called a Right to Sue.

A Right to Sue is a document issued by the EEOC giving a person the right to pursue legal action against a company. Except for government workers, a person has up to 365 days (from the point of termination from a job for perceived discrimination) to acquire a Right to Sue from the EEOC. Once a Right to Sue has been issued, the person has ninety days to file the lawsuit, or they lose the right to file. Thus it is important, if one has retained a lawyer, to make sure that the lawsuit gets filed promptly. The rules and deadlines are different for government workers, so be sure to ask the EEOC rep to be specific about the rules and deadlines.

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The EEOC is a useful place to start for reasons other than getting a Right To Sue. Conversations with EEOC personnel are free and confidential, and investigators there can often be valuable sounding boards for discussing the work environment, and what can be done to address the situation. Investigations will not take place unless you give the okay. It is important to note, however, that their word is not final. It is possible that an EEOC investigator will not feel that a specific situation "rises to the level of a hostile work environment." But a lawyer still might. For example, an EEOC rep is likely to act only if the hostile environment pertains to a federally protected category - age, race, gender, religion, national origin, equal pay, or disability (or certain locally protected categories depending upon the state involved). So you may want to ask for the Right to Sue even if an EEOC rep feels, for whatever reason, ranging from an objective analysis to inexperience, that there is insufficient material to pursue an investigation.

The conditions that constitute a hostile work environment vary greatly. In general there are guidelines, but these things are often decided on a case-by-case basis. But if events are taking place that you feel are inappropriate, take action. Even if it's just a phone call or an email, do something to stop that gnawing sense that you are in a bad situation with no options. This often contributes substantially to the toll the HWE takes on you as a person. Usually there are options, and talking to other people - friends, a labor lawyer, and an EEOC rep - is usually helpful. Services like Pre-Paid Legal Services, which costs about $25 a month, provides hours of free phone consultations with a lawyer. EEOC consultations are free. Information from local departments of labor might also prove useful.

Often, whether one talks to an EEOC investigator or a lawyer, the question will arise: did you attempt to notify your employer of the perceived discrimination? This is because it is now expected that an employee will notify their employer about experiences of discrimination or hostility in the workplace, and give the employer an opportunity to correct the situation before legal action is taken. This can create a very difficult decision for an employee, because many work environments, hostile or otherwise, are not especially good at feedback, so employees take a might be taking a substantial risk by speaking up. Again, however, there are options.

An employer has a responsibility to provide a safe and effective mechanism for reporting experiences. If there is a history of people using that vehicle and being punished for doing so, it can be argued that the employer has failed to provide such a mechanism. Again, it must be discussed on a case-by-case basis, but if you can show that the reporting mechanism was untrustworthy, it could well have an impact in the mind of an EEOC investigator, or a judge. Anonymous surveys can be an effective tool to document situations where existing feedback tools are widely viewed as ineffective or dangerous (full disclosure: the author provides such a free survey).

Documentation in one form or another can be critical. Should you provide a letter explaining the situation to your employer, for example, retain a copy. Provide specific examples of the discriminatory behavior, and state that you would like this behavior to cease. Document any subsequent behavior you feel is retaliatory.

Finally, stay in touch with the lawyer or EEOC rep or other experienced individual with whom you are working - for moral support, but also to make sure your documentation and the steps you are taking are appropriate. For your emotional well-being, it is often valuable to know that you are not alone, but that you have a "team" of support. This will also enable you to pursue remedies without any danger of being viewed as a distraction at work. Speak to colleagues whom you feel you can trust, and take the appropriate and necessary steps outside the work environment to get the situation addressed.

HWEs are bad for everyone - bad for business, bad for the community, bad for families, and bad for individual or groups of employees. It is important to, as best we can, stamp out hostile work environments wherever they arise. With information and guidance, often there are steps that can be taken to improve a bad situation.

The EEOC's number is: 1-800-669-4000.
The number for Pre-Paid Legal Services is: 1-800.654.7757

Please note: we have no financial arrangement with Pre-Paid Legal. The number is provided only so that you investigate evaluate whether the service might be beneficial to you. This is a not an endorsement of the service.