Hostile work environment harassment

Protected characteristic

Severe or pervasive

Types of Harassment

Now that you are familiar with some key definitions, the next step is to review exactly what is and isn't harassment.

There are two types of harassment. The first one we'll review is known as hostile work environment harassment, which can be caused by both supervisors and non-supervisors. It occurs when an employee is subject to unwelcome or offensive conduct that is:

  • Based on an employee's protected characteristic.
  • Severe or pervasive in the work environment.

NOTE: For New York City and New York State employees, harassment does not need to be severe or pervasive in order for it to be legally actionable.