Can you sue employer for verbal abuse

Verbal harassment is considered any conscious and repeated attempt to humiliate, demean, insult, or criticize someone with words. Verbal abuse can come from anyone in the workplace, from supervisors to co-workers, and can be incredibly damaging emotionally and financially. This means that the abuse you suffered must have impacted your employment and likely would need to have violated your rights under one of the federally protected classes or state laws.

Suppose the verbal harassment includes discrimination or you were retaliated against for reporting verbal harassment that created a hostile work environment. But can an abused worker sue their employer for verbal abuser — or for failing to take reasonable steps to stop verbal abuse in the workplace?

We covered the impact created by verbal abuse, but exactly how can verbal abuse take place at work? While there are many different forms of verbal abuse in the workplace, some of the most common include:.

Neither federal and nor California laws explicitly prohibit verbal abuse in the workplace — unless the abuse constitutes a form of discrimination or harassment. For instance, California law makes it illegal to discriminate against an employee based on a protected characteristic, including:.

If your attorney can prove that the verbal abuse at work is a form of discrimination or harassment, you may be able to hold your employer accountable and recover damages. There should also be additional information on what constitutes harassment and verbal abuse in a company's handbook. If a supervisor's harassment results in an adverse action such as termination, the loss of a promotion or wages, or a hostile work environment, the business can be liable. It may be able to avoid liability if it can prove that it attempted, within reason, to prevent or correct the supervisor's harassing behavior and the worker did not take advantage of preventive or corrective measures put forth by the employer.

A business is also liable for the actions of its employees in a nonsupervisory role and for nonemployees who work with the company if it knew of the harassment but did not take the proper steps to stop the behavior. When the EEOC investigates complaints against employers that involve one or more of the protected classes, it researches the whole incident, including the nature of the conduct and the context in which it occurred to decide if the harassment is severe enough to be illegal.

Workers who wish to file a complaint about workplace harassment should contact the EEOC through its Public Portal or call Michelle Nati is an associate editor and writer who has reported on legal, criminal and government news for PasadenaNow. She holds a B. Reviewed by: Michelle Seidel, B. The person harassing a worker can be their direct supervisor; a supervisor they don't work with directly; a coworker; or someone who doesn't work for the company, such as a vendor.

If your boss was singling out only women or Latinos for the screaming treatment, that might constitute harassment. However, a boss who yells at everyone -- what you might call an "equal opportunity harasser" -- is not discriminating against a particular group. Being a jerk isn't against the law.

Inappropriate workplace behavior crosses the line into harassment only if it is based on a protected trait. Of course, the fact that your boss's behavior might be legal doesn't mean it's appropriate. You might want to consider talking to your HR representative or a higher-level manager about your boss's conduct. If some of your coworkers are willing to join you in complaining, so much the better. The company may not know how oppressive your worksite has become, and it clearly has an interest in retaining its employees.

You might find that the company is willing to step in and take action to tone things down. Depending on your state, however, your employer may be violating wage and hours laws.

In several states, employees are entitled to meal periods or rest breaks once they have worked a certain number of hours. To learn more, select your state on our wage and hour page.