Legal Question in Employment Law in Virginia

Re: hostile work environment

Mere harassing in the work place of an employee is not enough to make out a supportable federal claim of discrimination based upon a hostile work environment. The employee making such a claim must also be able to show that the objectional conduct from a fellow employee or supervisor giving rise to the hostile work environment

was sufficiently "severe or pervasive"(to use the terms frequently found in federal court decisions addressing this issue), and that it was clearly directed at and based upon or related to that person's membership in at least one of the federally protected classes of persons, e.g., based upon the person's sex, race, national origin, religion, etc.

The kind of harassment which frequently goes on in the work place

environment and which you may have experienced may not necessarily accord with the above definition of what is actionable conduct under federal law with respect to an alleged hostile work environment claim.