Texas Hostile Work Environment : Employment Claims under the law

A growing number of employment claims are being filed by employees alleging hostile work environments. Workers who feel threatened or offended can file these claims with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or through the Texas Division of Civil Rights.

It is important to note that mere offensive remarks are not enough to establish a hostile environment. Texas courts have stated that a hostile work environment cannot be established by comments which are merely offensive. No one is entitled to a perfect workplace free of annoyances. Texas employment discrimination law is not intended to be a general civility code in the workplace.

There have been rare and extreme cases under the employment cases in which a single incident will be so severe that from the perspective of a reasonable person, the environment became hostile. However, most of the time, repeated “racial slurs” in the example of race discrimination, is necessary to establish a racial harassment claim.

The question as to whether a San Antonio workplace environment is hostile or abusive can be determined only by looking at all the circumstances, including the frequency of the discriminatory conduct; its severity; whether it is physically threatening or humiliating, or merely offensive utterance; and whether it unreasonably interferes with an employee’s work performance. You should contact your San Antonio Texas employment lawyer to discuss your options if you believe you are in a hostile work environment.