Page 6 - White Paper-Employment Termination

employee, could constitute sexual harassment, and therefore the same behavior

generalized in the workplace could be actionable as a hostile work environment.

In contrast, if a group of employees are generally hostile to another

employee without any discriminatory intent, no matter how bad the behavior or

how actually hostile the work environment is, it is probably not unlawful. The

truth is most situations that an employee might label a “hostile work environment”

fall somewhere in between these two extremes, and you may need legal advice to

determine whether there is any legal claim that could arise from the behavior.

“Workplace bullying” is another term we hear a lot from employees calling

to seek legal advice. It certainly happens, and is certainly intensely problematic for

the individual who feels targeted by such behavior, but it is not- at least not in

Massachusetts and at least not at the present- against the law. Be extra careful,

however, if the target of the behavior is a member of a protected class (see

discussion of hostile work environment above).

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