“Severe or Pervasive” Explained, Hostile Work place

In California, the concept of a hostile work environment, especially when linked to wrongful termination, is a critical aspect of employment law. The legal framework is primarily governed by the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and federal laws like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Legal Framework in California

1. Definition of Hostile Work Environment: A hostile work environment is created when an employee experiences severe and pervasive conduct that a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive, and which affects the employee’s ability to perform their job. This conduct can be based on race, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics.
2. Severe and Pervasive Standard: For conduct to be considered severe and pervasive, it must go beyond mere offensive utterances and be sufficiently frequent or severe to create an objectively hostile or abusive work environment.
3. Wrongful Termination Connection: Wrongful termination in the context of a hostile work environment occurs when an employee is terminated for reasons related to the hostile environment, such as complaining about the harassment, or when the environment becomes so intolerable that the employee is forced to resign (constructive discharge).
4. Employer Liability: Employers are liable for a hostile work environment created by supervisors. They can also be liable for conduct by co-workers or non-employees if they knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.

Potential Problems and Challenges

1. Proving Severity and Pervasiveness: Demonstrating that the conduct was both severe and pervasive enough to legally constitute a hostile work environment can be challenging. It often requires a pattern of behavior rather than isolated incidents.
2. Subjectivity: The assessment of what is considered hostile or abusive can be subjective and varies from case to case, depending on the circumstances and the individuals involved.
3. Retaliation and Wrongful Termination Claims: Establishing a direct link between complaints about the hostile work environment and subsequent termination can be complex. Employers may argue that the termination was based on legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons.
4. Documentation and Evidence: Collecting and presenting evidence to support the existence of a hostile work environment and its connection to wrongful termination is often difficult, especially in cases where the harassment is subtle or not documented.

Examples

1. Racially Charged Hostile Environment: An employee repeatedly faces racial slurs and derogatory comments from supervisors and colleagues. After complaining to HR, they are demoted and eventually terminated. This could constitute wrongful termination stemming from a racially charged hostile work environment.
2. Sexual Harassment and Constructive Discharge: A female employee faces continuous, unwelcome sexual advances and lewd comments from her manager. The situation becomes so unbearable that she feels compelled to resign. This could be a case of constructive discharge due to a hostile work environment.
3. Disability-Based Hostility Leading to Termination: An employee with a disability is constantly mocked for their limitations. After filing a complaint, they face increased scrutiny and are eventually terminated for minor mistakes. This could be seen as wrongful termination linked to a hostile work environment.

Conclusion

Creating a hostile work environment based on severe and pervasive conduct is unlawful in California. Such environments not only violate anti-discrimination laws but can also lead to claims of wrongful termination, particularly when employees are terminated for opposing such conduct or are forced to leave due to the intolerability of the situation. The complexities in proving a hostile work environment and its link to wrongful termination make these cases particularly challenging. Employers must foster a workplace free of harassment and discrimination and respond promptly and effectively to complaints. Employees should be aware of their rights and the protections available under the law, keeping detailed records of any incidents contributing to a hostile work environment.

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2524. “Severe or Pervasive” Explained

New September 2003; Revised December 2007, July 2019

Directions for Use

Read this instruction with any of the Work Environment Harassment instructions (CACI Nos. 2521A, 2521B, 2521C, 2522A, 2522B, and 2522C). Read also CACI

No. 2523, “Harassing Conduct” Explained. Give the last optional sentence if a single incident forms the basis of the claim. (See Gov. Code, § 12923(b) [single incident of harassing conduct can be sufficient to create a triable issue regarding the existence of a hostile work environment].)

In determining what constitutes “sufficiently pervasive” harassment, the courts have held that acts of harassment cannot be occasional, isolated, sporadic, or trivial. (See Fisher v. San Pedro Peninsula Hospital (1989) 214 Cal.App.3d 590, 610 [262 Cal.Rptr. 842].) Whether this limitation remains in light of Government Code section 12923 is not clear.

Sources and Authority

• “We have agreed with the United States Supreme Court that, to prevail, an employee claiming harassment based upon a hostile work environment must demonstrate that the conduct complained of was severe enough or sufficiently pervasive to alter the conditions of employment and create a work environment that qualifies as hostile or abusive to employees because of their sex. The

working environment must be evaluated in light of the totality of the circumstances: ‘[W]hether an environment is “hostile” or “abusive” can be determined only by looking at all the circumstances. These may include the frequency of the discriminatory conduct; its severity; whether it is physically threatening or humiliating, or a mere offensive utterance; and whether it unreasonably interferes with an employee’s work performance.’ ” (Miller v. Dept. of Corrections (2005) 36 Cal.4th 446, 462 [30 Cal.Rptr.3d 797, 115 P.3d 77], internal citations omitted.)

• “[T]he adjudicator’s inquiry should center, dominantly, on whether the discriminatory conduct has unreasonably interfered with the plaintiff’s work performance. To show such interference, ‘the plaintiff need not prove that his or her tangible productivity has declined as a result of the harassment.’ It suffices to prove that a reasonable person subjected to the discriminatory conduct would find, as the plaintiff did, that the harassment so altered working conditions as to ‘make it more difficult to do the job.’ ” (Harris v. Forklift Sys. (1993) 510 U.S. 17, 25 [114 S.Ct. 367, 126 L.Ed.2d 295], conc. opn. of Ginsburg, J.; see Gov. Code, § 12923(a) endorsing this language as reflective of California law.)
  • “For sexual harassment to be actionable, it must be sufficiently severe or pervasive ‘to alter the conditions of [the victim’s] employment and create an abusive working environment.’ . . . [¶] ‘Conduct that is not severe or pervasive enough to create an objectively hostile or abusive work environment—an environment that a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive—is beyond Title VII’s purview. Likewise, if the victim does not subjectively perceive the environment to be abusive, the conduct has not actually altered the conditions of the victim’s employment, and there is no Title VII violation.’ . . . California courts have adopted the same standard in evaluating claims under the FEHA.” (Aguilar v. Avis Rent A Car System, Inc. (1999) 21 Cal.4th 121, 129–130 [87

Cal.Rptr.2d 132, 980 P.2d 846], internal citations omitted.)

• “Whether the sexual conduct complained of is sufficiently pervasive to create a hostile or offensive work environment must be determined from the totality of the circumstances. The plaintiff must prove that the defendant’s conduct would have interfered with a reasonable employee’s work performance . . . and that she was actually offended . . . . The factors that can be considered in evaluating the totality of the circumstances are: (1) the nature of the unwelcome sexual acts or works (generally, physical touching is more offensive than unwelcome verbal abuse); (2) the frequency of the offensive encounters; (3) the total number of days over which all of the offensive conduct occurs; and (4) the context in which the sexually harassing conduct occurred.” (Fisher v. San Pedro Peninsula Hospital (1989) 214 Cal.App.3d 590, 609–610 [262 Cal.Rptr. 842], internal citation omitted.)
  • “The United States Supreme Court . . . has clarified that conduct need not seriously affect an employee’s psychological well-being to be actionable as abusive work environment harassment. So long as the environment reasonably would be perceived, and is perceived, as hostile or abusive, there is no need for

it also to be psychologically injurious.” (Kelly-Zurian v. Wohl Shoe Co., Inc.

(1994) 22 Cal.App.4th 397, 412 [27 Cal.Rptr.2d 457], internal citations omitted.)

• “As the Supreme Court recently reiterated, in order to be actionable, ‘. . . a sexually objectionable environment must be both objectively and subjectively offensive, one that a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive, and one that the victim in fact did perceive to be so.’ The work environment must be viewed from the perspective of a reasonable person in the plaintiff’s position, considering ‘all the circumstances.’ This determination requires judges and juries to exercise ‘[c]ommon sense, and an appropriate sensitivity to social context’ in order to evaluate whether a reasonable person in the plaintiff’s position would find the conduct severely hostile or abusive.” (Beyda v. City of Los Angeles (1998) 65 Cal.App.4th 511, 518–519 [76 Cal.Rptr.2d 547], internal citations omitted.)
• “The requirement that the conduct be sufficiently severe or pervasive to create a working environment a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive is a crucial limitation that prevents sexual harassment law from being expanded into a ‘general civility code.’ ” (Jones v. Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation (2007) 152 Cal.App.4th 1367, 1377 [62 Cal.Rptr.3d 200], internal citations omitted.)
• “[T]he jury only needed to find the harassing conduct to be either severe or pervasive . . . .” (Caldera v. Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation (2018) 25 Cal.App.5th 31, 40 [235 Cal.Rptr.3d 262].)

Secondary Sources

3 Witkin, Summary of California Law (11th ed. 2017) Agency and Employment,

§§ 363, 370

Chin, et al., California Practice Guide: Employment Litigation, Ch. 10-B, Sexual Harassment, ¶¶ 10:160–10:249 (The Rutter Group)

1 Wrongful Employment Termination Practice (Cont.Ed.Bar 2d ed.) Discrimination Claims, §§ 2.68, 2.75, Sexual and Other Harassment, §§ 3.1, 3.17, 3.36–3.41

2 Wilcox, California Employment Law, Ch. 41, Substantive Requirements Under Equal Employment Opportunity Laws, §§ 41.80[1][a], 41.81[1][b] (Matthew Bender)

3 Wilcox, California Employment Law, Ch. 43, Civil Actions Under Equal Employment Opportunity Laws, § 43.01[10][g][i] (Matthew Bender)

11 California Forms of Pleading and Practice, Ch. 115, Civil Rights: Employment Discrimination, § 115.36 (Matthew Bender) California Civil Practice: Employment Litigation, § 2:56 (Thomson Reuters)

Call 310-312-1100 Now to schedule a time to discuss your matter with Attorney John Michael Jensen.