Suing For A Hostile Work Environment
If you believe that your work environment is a hostile one, reach out to a Los Angeles workplace rights attorney to discuss your case. We can help you determine your legal options.
If your case meets the legal criteria for a hostile work environment, suing your employer may be the best option.
Under both California and federal employment laws, workers are protected from harassment, undue stress, unsafe working environments, and negligence.
These laws make it easy , for workers to sue for unlawful harassment and discrimination.
However, these laws also protect employers from frivolous claims that stem from overworked employees who are stressed out or dissatisfied with otherwise ordinary workplace incidents, such as a demanding supervisor, long hours, or difficult co-workers.
Though bullying in the workplace is illegal, if your claim stems from acts of bullying, you would need to attempt to combat the issue internally by reporting the incident or incidences to HR.
Your company should have a policy that dictates what should be done about employees who create a hostile work environment or who pick on others because of age, race, disability, religion, gender, or national origin.
If your company does not have a policy in place, it could be liable for the negative employees actions. If it does have a policy in place but chooses not to investigate the claims, it can also be held liable for the adverse actions and behaviors of the employee.
Can I Quit My Job Anytime
California law permits most employees to quit their jobs at any time, regardless of the reason for quitting. Only a small number of employees are not permitted to leave their employment at any time without consequences, and thats because they have a contract stating the specific duration of their employment.
How To Manage Workplace Stress
The duty of care to protect employees from work-related stress imposes a number of practical obligations on an employer. These include carrying out regular risk assessments to identify any risk factors in the workplace, and putting in place proper controls to remove and reduce any such risks. However, the duty of care does not end there.
Even though an employer is entitled to expect that an employee can cope with the normal pressures of work, once it is apparent that an employee is suffering from work-related stress, or they are showing obvious signs of stress, the matter must be investigated and action taken.
In many cases, employees suffering with work-related stress may be unwilling to admit to feeling overwhelmed, so it is often up to the employer and line managers to spot the signs before its too late. This can often be difficult, as work-related stress can manifest itself in several different ways. Common signs and symptoms to watch out for include:
Once it has become obvious that an employee is suffering from work-related stress, you should not wait for a formal grievance to be submitted before conducting a workplace investigation. Steps should be taken immediately to identify the source of the employees stress and to help alleviate the effects. The employer should also take steps to support the employee in their recovery, a process which may be prolonged and require regular reviews.
Don’t Miss: Can Stress Cause Headaches For Days
Intentional Infliction Of Emotional Distress
A claim involving intentional infliction of emotional distress requires that you show that the perpetrator intentionally or recklessly caused significant emotional distress or psychological trauma via some extreme or outrageous behavior. For an act to be considered extreme or outrageous, it must deviate from societal norms and decorum. For example, light insults or a firing in front of co-workers may not be enough to make a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. The behavior has to be more extreme. Sexual harassment and racial insults, for example, may meet this bar.
Can I Sue My Employer For Creating A Hostile Work Environment
HomeLibraryWorkplace HarassmentCan I Sue My Employer for Creating a Hostile Work Environment?
What is considered a hostile work environment in California?
It goes by many names, but the conditions and impact are the same: a workplace is so stressful that it begins to impact employees physical and mental health, instills fear, and causes decreased job satisfaction.
Many people have challenging jobs, and many more probably feel as if too much pressure is placed upon them to complete too many tasks in too little time.
Yet, that is normal.
What is not normal is feeling physical dread before heading into the office, fearing that you will be let go if you do not complete a project within an impossible timeframe, or going home and trying to reduce your anxiety with drugs or alcohol.
If your job makes you feel fearful and depressed, or if it is taking a toll on your physical health, you may be dealing with a hostile work environment.
If that is the case, you may be able to sue your employer.
A Los Angeles hostile workplace attorney can review the facts of your situation and, if you have a case, begin to gather evidence and build a case.
Don’t Miss: Are Nuclear Stress Tests Safe
Can You Sue Your Employer In California For Emotional Distress
If you suffered emotional distress due to work, your employer can be held responsible under certain circumstances.
Your employer may be held legally responsible for an employees conduct when the conduct that caused the emotional distress was within the scope of that employees job. For example, a retail employee may be told to watch for shoplifters. If the employer wrongfully accuses a coworker of shoplifting, the employer can be held liable.
Employers are found liable for an employees actions through the process of ratification, which requires proof of the following facts:
- The employer had actual knowledge of the specific conduct
- The employer knew the conduct was harmful
- The employer failed to take adequate steps to remedy the situation.
- In workplace claims, emotional distress is often alleged along with other harmful conduct such as sexual harassment. For example, an employer can be held responsible for IIED after failing to respond to numerous complaints, over a period of months, that alleged sexual harassment by a manager.
Serve Notice To Your Mortgage Company
When you file your lawsuit, you must notify your mortgage company that you filed the lawsuit against them.
To complete service:
Anyone who is not a Plaintiff and is over 18 years old can serve the defendant. Most people pay to have a court clerk, process server, or the local sheriffs office serve the papers.
Read Also: What Causes Stress In Cats
Differentiating Between Stress At Work And Other Psychological Illness
If an employee claims that work-related stress has damaged their quality of life, they could be entitled to claim compensation. However, there are several psychiatric illnesses that exhibit symptoms similar to stress that should not be confused.
For example, depression shares many of the same symptoms as work-related stress but is an entirely different illness that often has many other contributing factors. To complicate matters further, work-related stress can sometimes lead to depression.
For this reason, any claim for stress at work compensation will need to be made on the basis of a professional medical opinion. If youre interested in getting an assessment, we can arrange for you to undergo an assessment with an independent expert to help evidence your case. To learn more about our services, please get in touch today or continue reading to learn how much compensation for stress at work could I be owed?.
Can A Manager Be A Source Of Stress
Dont be a source of stress yourself: Every manager has a bright side, and even the worst boss in the world will be able to display some positive qualities some of the time. However, stress tends to bring out a managers dark side.
So, yes you can sue your employer for workplace stress under certain circumstances. Generally, if the stress is due to ordinary workplace incidents such as a demanding supervisor, long hours, or difficult co-workers, stress claims fall under the workers compensation system.
You May Like: Does Stress Cause Weight Gain Or Loss
Legal Advice For Emotional Distress Claims
If youve suffered severe or permanent physical or emotional injuries, youll need an experienced personal injury attorney to get the full value of your claim from an insurance company.
An attorney can help when your case has factors the insurance company will use against you, such as:
- Pre-existing mental health issues
- Seemingly low impact fall or minor car accident
You dont have to settle for less. If you were severely injured or emotionally damaged, you deserve to have a skilled professional on your side.
Most personal injury lawyers offer a free case evaluation, and represent clients on a contingency fee basis. The attorney only gets paid after negotiating a personal injury settlement or winning your case in court.
Theres no financial risk to find out what an experienced attorney can do for you.
What To Do If You Have Suffered From Negligence
If you suffer from work-related stress or you have done in the past, you may be able to claim stress at work compensation for your suffering providing that third-party failings were responsible.
If you find yourself in this situation, then there are some things you can do to help improve the chance of your claim being successful, including:
- Document a timeline of your stress try and establish when you first noticed the symptoms of work-related stress, and what you believe may have caused it. Create a timeline of other events at work that contributed to your incident.
- Speak to a professional counsellor either at your workplace or through your GP. You will need a positive diagnosis of work-related stress from a registered medical professional to make a compensation claim.
- Assess how its affected your life such as lowering your enjoyment of social events, causing you to lose sleep due to constant worry, and acuter physical symptoms such as depression and anxiety.
- Evidence any financial losses if you have had to cancel a holiday, suffered loss of earnings through time off, or any other form of expense, then list these down so that you can claim compensation for them.
- Get expert legal help by using the No Win No Fee claims service that we offer, you could make legal proceedings with help from one of our solicitors
Recommended Reading: Can Stress And Anxiety Cause Ed
How To Sue For Workplace Stress In California
If you speak to your employer or HR department about your stressful working environment, and they are unwilling to remove the cause or take action to alleviate job-related stressors, you should contact an employment attorney who can help you file a complaint with either the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
What Is The Zone Of Danger
Most jurisdictions require that a person making a claim for emotional distress be within the âzone of danger.â In legal terms, the zone of danger is the area within which one is in actual physical peril from the negligent conduct of another person. This means that often in order to recover for emotional distress, you must either be directly injured yourself or you were also in danger of physical injury.
For example, if you were in a car wreck with your family due to the negligent driving of a drunk person, you may be able to recover for the emotional distress you suffered from both your physical injuries and injuries to your family.
Another example is where a drunk driver drives onto a sidewalk and hits a child walking with their family. In that case, the family members, who were also in danger of being physically injured by the driver, may recover for the emotional distress that they suffered.
Also Check: What Is The Best Way To Manage Stress
A Guide To Claiming Compensation For Stress At Work
Stress at work claims
If you suffer from work-related stress or have done in an old job, then you may have a valid reason to claim compensation for it. You may want to make a claim against your employer, be it your current employer or a previous employer. When you are trying to claim stress at work compensation, you can make a claim for incidents occurring up to 6 years ago in the UK.
This guide is intended to help people who have or are suffering from work-related stress by giving them a detailed overview of the process of making stress at work claims, answering common questions asked by claimants such as how much compensation for stress at work?.
Well also provide some legal advice on what to do before making a compensation claim to give your case the best chance of success. Finally, well explain the No Win No Fee claims service that we provide and how you could benefit from it yourself.
Are You Emotionally Strong Enough To Handle The Stress Of A Lawsuit
Lawsuits are stressful and emotionally taxing. You will want to ask yourself if you are, at the moment, mentally able to handle the often intense stress of initiating an emotional distress lawsuit against your employer. Lawsuits of this nature may demand that you re-experience certain uncomfortable or distressing moments that gave rise to your experience of mental anguish in the workplace, or that you reveal private facts relevant to the case.
If you want to wait a bit before initiating a lawsuit because you feel that you will not be able to emotionally stomach any sort of legal action, you will want to consider the statute of limitations for claims of emotional distress. In New York, the statute of limitations for IIED is one year after the relevant act, and for NIED, the statute of limitations is 3 years following the incident.
Recommended Reading: Can Stress Cause Low Platelets
When Is An Employer Responsible For Emotional Distress
Its found where the circumstances would cause a reasonable person to be unable to cope with the mental distress. An employer can be held legally responsible for an employees actions when the conduct that caused the emotional distress is within the scope of the employees job, or the employer consented to the conduct.
Can I Sue My Employer For Lack Of Duty Of Care
In theory, it is possible for an employee to sue their employer for a lack of duty of care, for example, where an employee is suffering from work-related stress and the employer has failed to take steps to prevent this. In practice, this will often arise in the context of a constructive dismissal claim where an employee has felt forced to resign because of work-related stress.
Recommended Reading: What To Get Someone Who Is Stressed
Can You Sue For High Levels Of Anxiety And Stress In The Workplace
Having a job can sometimes provide a sense of financial security and stability in your life. When that job causes more anxiety than comfort, though, your work environment could qualify as causing you emotional distress. In fact, over 65% of workers say that workplace stress has caused difficulty in their lives. That difficulty could lessen productivity and increase missing work, alcohol or substance abuse, and physical and mental health problems, according to the American Institute of Stress .
When your mental or physical health is being negatively impacted by work, you could potentially sue your employer for emotional distress. A Little Rock employment lawyer will be your best asset against your employer because they can expertly guide you through the legal process and most effectively present your case. Lets look at some of the specifics when it comes to suing for high levels of anxiety and stress in the workplace.
How Can I Bring My Claim
It is generally preferable for individuals to try and bring legal claims forward in the employment tribunal rather than the ordinary courts, as claims can be started there without paying a fee. Additionally, there is no risk of having to pay the other sides legal fees if the claim is ultimately unsuccessful .
However, this will depend upon the type of claim that is brought as mentioned above, some claims such as negligence claims and large claims for breach of contract can only be brought in the civil courts.
Claims for any type of discrimination and harassment, working time claims, breach of contract claims under £25,000 and claims for unfair dismissal should be brought in the employment tribunal.
Also Check: Can Your Chest Hurt From Stress
Can I Sue My Employer For Stress And Anxiety In California
According to the American Institute of Stress, 80% of workers reported feeling stress on the job and 40% of workers said their job is very or extremely stressful. 75% of workers indicated their belief that workers now have more on-the-job stress than a generation ago.
Many of us feel stressed at or about work, but if that stress builds to the point where you are having issues with anxiety, depression, alcoholism, or have even turned to drugs, then your employer may be putting you under emotional distress.
Issues With Filing A Lawsuit By Yourself
Suing your mortgage company in small claims court for stress is difficult. Not only do you have to prove that you experienced undue stress, but you must also establish that your mortgage company was directly responsible. Without a legal background, it can be difficult to quantify damages and compile the right documents to support your case.
Recommended Reading: Can Stress Make You Feel Sick
