Florida law has a specific definition of what constitutes a hostile work environment. Find out if yours qualifies.

Your boss is a bully. Your co-workers yell at you one day, ignore you the next – and one of them’s leaving offensive notes in your in-box. And none of it shows any sign of stopping anytime soon. Is your office a hostile work environment?

Maybe. But like so many terms used by lawyers, the phrase “hostile work environment” has a specific legal meaning. It’s not applicable to a workplace just because your coworkers are mean and petty people, for example. Just because a workplace is intimidating, stressful or unpleasant doesn’t make it hostile, at least not from a legal perspective.

In order to legally qualify as a hostile work environment, a workplace has to meet three criteria:

Please Note: At the time this article was written, the information contained within it was current based on the prevailing law at the time. Laws and precedents are subject to change, so this information may not be up to date. Always speak with a law firm regarding any legal situation to get the most current information available.