Toxic Tongued Employees: Verbal Harassment in the Workplace

Under the law, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate or harass an employee on the basis of his gender, age, race, nationality, disability or religion. While sexual harassment is often the most commonly complained form of harassment, there is also what we call verbal harassment in the workplace.

While the first amendment of the Constitution protects free speech, it becomes illegal if his words are used to harass an employee or an individual in the workplace or create a hostile environment.

Verbal harassment is also known as verbal abuse (reviling) is an abusive behavior which uses words or language to derogate, bully, or put down another person. Verbal harassment may be in the form of the following:

• Racial epithets
• Lewd jokes
• Name-calling
• Putting down someone
• Publicly berating
• Shouting
• Backstabbing

If there is an employer or employee who constantly puts people down or makes cruel comments on the basis of any of the protected characteristics, it often creates a hostile environment where employees may feel distracted or demeaned thus resulting to impaired work productivity.

It may also affect relationships within the workplace as some verbally abusive employees may try to destroy other employees’ characters just to make themselves look good or flaunt their power over younger or “different” employees.

Employers generally have the legal duty to address and resolve harassment complaints within the workplace. If they fail to handle a verbal harassment complaint or report, and if they allow it to continue or even take the side of the harasser, the victim of the verbal harassment may validly file a case against both the harasser and the employer.

Victims may seek compensation for the emotional damages they suffered at the hands of the abuser, as well as the negligence of the employer in addressing their claims.

Verbal harassment however, may be hard to substantiate as it is intangible but here are some tips you can follow to help build your case:

• Find witnesses to the verbal harassment. Often, if a person is verbally abusive, chances are, you are not the only one in the workplace who suffered from her words or comments. Talk to them and get their statements.
• Keep a journal of the person’s actions and verbal abuse committed against you.
• Do not lose your temper, tell the person how you feel but if she persists in demeaning you or putting you and other people down, report it to the proper authorities.
• Often, some verbal harassers so as to keep their abusive behavior more private will send you instant messages, e-mails, or even mail or instant message other people derogatory remarks about you. Save these messages and compile it as evidence.
• If all else has failed, when management has refused to take action or punish the “toxic” and abusive employee, hire an employment lawyer. The employment lawyer will be able to file a case against the abusive party and maximize the evidence you have gathered as enumerated above.