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Psychological harassment is one where a person is subjected to a behavior that is repetitive intending to harm through mental pain or upsetting a person. From a legal standpoint, psychological harassment is abusive, intimidating or humiliating and threatening. Generally, one may not find any legal proof of such behavior, just that one may find complaints or reports by the victims who are subjected to this torture. Psychological harassment may be in any form ranging from verbal abuse to aggressive intimidating actions. The performance and productivity of a person who is subjected to psychological harassment in a workplace is negatively impacted. Below are a few questions that have been answered regarding psychological harassment: An employee is being subjected to psychological harassment in close door meetings by the supervisor. This employee has been threatened that he may be terminated immediately if the supervisor were to get to know that the conversations were voice-recorded. If the employee maintains a journal, can it be considered as sufficient evidence?
Legally, one is allowed to record a conversation without the boss’ permission or knowledge. Oklahoma Statutes Title 13, Section 176.4(5) makes Oklahoma a one-party state. Therefore, it is legal for one person to record a conversation without the other person’s permission or knowledge and table it as proof in court. However, one may be fired by the employer for recording the conversation. The importance of evidence cannot be undermined in such cases. Therefore, it would be better if a third party is present in such meetings so that he/she may be a witness to harassments. If one is being harassed through written medium; one may provide this as evidence to the HR or the senior management. If one is maintaining a journal that would note details of all meetings; it may indicate that the employee did not record it as an afterthought, post filing a lawsuit. If one is maintaining details of events (news or whether) regularly; it would show that one was meticulous in the recordings. An employee resigned from the job because of extreme psychological harassment by the manager and moved to another state. The employee cited the reason for quitting the company as psychological harassment from the manager. This employee wants to know if damages may be claimed as there is no response from the company.
Washington DC is an at-will employment state where there is no employment contract that would direct a company to respond to a certain situation as mentioned above. If one was harassed based on factors such as race, sex, color, national origin, etc., then the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EOCC) may be approached to file a complaint. A complaint must be filed prior to the expiry of the statute of limitations for filing such a case. One may file a claim for personal injury if the employer wanted to harass the employee so that he/she could “intentionally inflict emotional distress”. Even though one resigned voluntarily, the reasons for resigning may fall under “constructive termination”, which makes it the same as them terminating the employee. Legally, what can an employee do who has been subjected to physical abuse by the manager for five years? The abuse ranged from the manager hitting clipboards on the employee’s head, putting an insect down the front of the shirt or squirting lotion.
A hostile work environment is created when one is subjected to intimidation, ridicule, insult or illegal discrimination and this changes the condition of employment. As per the above scenario one was subjected to psychological harassment at workplace and would need to show that this kind of offensive behavior is pervasive. Documentation of proof for abuse is needed for an employee to file a criminal case against the manager. It is better for one to first report the matter to the company’s top executives and send a copy of the complaint to the HR as well. One may show intent to be moved from the hostile work environment and report to another manager. One may also request to receive protection from retaliation from the manager for reporting him/her for harassment. If one wishes to, one may also file a complaint with the EEOC and the Human Rights Commission. A student has e-mail proof of the harassment that the professor inflicted on him/her. Due to this the student had spent an additional $6,000.00 to complete the Phd by staying back for another semester. What can the student do legally so that action may be taken against the professor?
Psychological harassment through intentional infliction of emotional and mental distress is met with scepticism in courts unless the conduct is “so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community”. In similar cases, courts have maintained that the plaintiff give proof that meets a “strict standard” to evade dismissal of the claim of psychological harassment. Therefore, it may be required that one demonstrate that the supervisor’s deeds served no legitimate purpose other than the only intention of inflicting emotional distress. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bans differentiation at work based on color, religion, sex, or national origin. One of the most common cases filed under harassment is the case of illegal discrimination. It is tough for one to prove that one was subjected to harassment as it is either verbal or was not witnessed. When you have questions, ask an employment lawyer to provide answers.
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