The people you work with may not always be pleasant toward you. Just as in school, people can sometimes be insensitive, rude or bullying.
If, however, the person brings one of your protected characteristics into their mistreatment of you, then they may be in breach of your civil rights. Protected characteristics are sex, race, color, nationality, religion, disability, genetic information and age (if over 40). Note that pregnancy, sexual orientation or transgender status fall under the characteristic of sex for this purpose. There are two possible grounds to file a claim:
1. Hostile work environment
If a reasonable person would find your work environment hostile, abusive or intimidating, you may be able to bring a claim of harassment on the grounds of it being a hostile work environment. It might only take one action to get to this point. Or it might come after a series of actions.
2. Quid pro quo harassment
A quid pro quo claim is an alternative way to bring a harassment claim that is most commonly an option in the case of sexual harassment. Sometimes, people abuse their power to try and get sexual favors from someone with less power. For example, a manager promises an employee that they won’t report their mistake if they agree to engage in a particular sexual act. Or a CEO tells a young manager that she will climb the corporate ladder a lot faster if she agrees to go on an upcoming business trip as his date.
No workers should have to endure harassment of any sort at work. If you believe you have legal grounds to bring a claim, learning more about how to proceed may be advantageous.