Category Archives: Hostile Environment at Work

What is a hostile environment? What makes a hostile environment at work? Read blog posts about the consequences of harassment and discrimination on the job.

6 Legal Issues That Enable Serial Harassers

Posted on November 16, 2017 by Richard T. Seymour

Published by Law360 on November 16, 2017; posted with permission under license. Richard Seymour The questions raised in the public mind by the allegations against Bill Cosby, Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly, Harvey Weinstein and other powerful accused sexual and racial harassers are important: If the allegations are true, how did they manage to get away with it for so long? Why didn’t the victims complain earlier? Where were human resources and company compliance officers? Parts of the answers to these questions are clear, and the evidence of the enablers is not pretty. There is a common theme in many of the accounts given by harassment victims: fear. Fear of retaliation, fear of having a career destroyed, fear of being unemployable if the victim has a public record of having filed a harassment lawsuit, the fear of public humiliation as the most intimate and painful details of their lives are laid…
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Posted in Arbitration, Baseless Cases for Washington DC Employment Law, Common Sense in DC Employment Law Cases, Harassment, Hostile Environment at Work, Mediation for Employment Disputes, Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, Unfair Treatment On the Job, Washington DC Harassment On the Job, Workplace Retaliation | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on 6 Legal Issues That Enable Serial Harassers

New Supervisors: Common-Sense Pointers for Employers and Employees

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Richard T. Seymour

By Richard T. Seymour www.RickSeymourLaw.com Copyright © 2010, Richard T. Seymour Better Ways of Managing Employment Disputes: Training New Supervisors Most employment disputes involving claims of discrimination, retaliation, or harassment, never make it to court. Employees choose not to pursue some disputes that far, or both sides reach a resolution before the EEOC or a State or local agency. Of the cases that do make it all the way into court, however, an astonishing number involve the actions of new supervisors. My personal perception is that employers, employees, and especially the new supervisors frequently mishandle the kinds of problems that predictably arise when a new supervisor is assigned. The result is a discrimination or retaliation complaint or lawsuit that could have been avoided. Why Are New Supervisors Assigned? There are three principal situations when a new supervisor is assigned, and the problems differ based on the situation. First, a new…
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Posted in Baseless Cases for Washington DC Employment Law, Discrimination in the Workplace, Federal Rules for Employment Law, Hostile Environment at Work, Meritorious Cases for Employment Law, Summary Judgment in Employment Law Cases, Washington DC Age Discrimination in Employment, Washington DC Arbitration, Washington DC Harassment On the Job, Workplace Retaliation | Comments Off on New Supervisors: Common-Sense Pointers for Employers and Employees

Nov. 17, 2008 Statement on Summary Judgment Rules to the Federal Courts’ Advisory Committee on the Civil Rules

Posted on January 6, 2008 by Richard T. Seymour

November 17, 2008 STATEMENT OF RICHARD T. SEYMOUR ON RULE 56, FED. R. CIV. PRO., BEFORE The focus of my statement is on why it seems to me that the Committee should reject the recommendations of some that the use of summary judgment should be increased by making the grant of summary judgment mandatory in some circumstances. Thank you for providing this opportunity to speak on the proposed amendments to Rule 56. It is clear that some cases or defenses are filed without an adequate basis or that their lack of a basis becomes clear in discovery. Rule 56 is an essential tool for striking untenable claims and defenses. I have used it in employment discrimination cases in seeking and obtaining partial summary judgment on questions of liability and of remedy. The focus of my statement is on why it seems to me that the Committee should reject the recommendations…
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Posted in Baseless Cases for Washington DC Employment Law, Discrimination in the Workplace, Employer Retaliation, Federal Rules for Employment Law, Hostile Environment at Work, Meritorious Cases for Employment Law, Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, Summary Judgment in Employment Law Cases | Comments Off on Nov. 17, 2008 Statement on Summary Judgment Rules to the Federal Courts’ Advisory Committee on the Civil Rules