Employees are often under the impression that all forms of “harassment” or generalized bad treatment at work are prohibited by law. However, to be unlawful, harassment in the workplace must be based on one of the following “protected characteristics”: race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, pregnancy and childbirth, sexual orientation, gender, marital status, age (40 or older), physical or mental disability, medical condition, or veteran status. Harassment includes all forms of offensive or unwelcome physical or verbal conduct based on any of these factors that interferes with an employee’s work or creates an offensive or hostile working environment.
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