Unlawful Harassment in the Workplace

Philip Villaume is an attorney and senior partner at Villaume & Schiek in Bloomington, Minnesota, and an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas. Drawing on more than 40 years of legal experience, attorney Philip Villaume practices employment law, primarily representing employees in workplace harassment cases. Illegal or unlawful harassment occurs when workers suffer pervasive and severe unwanted behavior owing to a protected trait like sex, age, or race.

Workplace harassment can be verbal, where offensive remarks are made that threaten the health and career of the worker. Harassment also can be sexual in nature, where a worker experiences unwanted advances from superiors or co-workers.

Workplace harassment also can be psychological, involving subtle actions intended to undermine the victims and reduce their self-esteem. Actions such as placing unwarranted deadlines on a specific employee may constitute psychological harassment. Finally, physical assault can occur in the workplace, including gestures from touching the employee inappropriately to threats of violence and physical assault.

If addressing the situation directly with the offender does not result in a resolution, an employee experiencing workplace harassment will need to file a complaint with the HR department of the company. Employers are expected to investigate the case properly. If the worker is unfairly dismissed or otherwise harmed due to the incident, an employment lawyer may be needed.