Immediate Steps to Take When Experiencing Type-Specific Harassment & Common Employer Defenses and How to Counter Them

Document the Specific Nature of Harassment

Protected Class Identification:

- Clearly identify which protected class(es) the harassment targets - Document explicit references to protected characteristics - Note patterns that suggest discriminatory motivation - Record witness observations about discriminatory intent

Type-Specific Evidence:

- Save offensive materials, emails, or communications - Record exact language used in harassment - Document differential treatment compared to others - Note policy violations specific to your protected class

Understand Your Specific Legal Protections

Research Applicable Laws:

- Identify which federal laws protect your specific situation - Understand state and local laws that may provide additional protection - Research recent court decisions affecting your protected class - Know specific accommodation rights that apply to your situation

Know Your Rights:

- Understand reasonable accommodation rights (disability, religion) - Know anti-retaliation protections specific to your situation - Recognize when harassment becomes legally actionable - Understand deadlines for your specific type of claim

"It Wasn't Based on Protected Class"

Employer Defense: Claiming harassment was based on personality conflicts or performance issues, not protected characteristics. Counter-Strategies: - Document explicit references to protected characteristics - Show pattern of different treatment for protected class members - Demonstrate timing correlation between protected activity and adverse treatment - Gather comparative evidence of how others are treated

"It Was Isolated Incidents"

Employer Defense: Arguing that incidents were too infrequent to create hostile environment. Counter-Strategies: - Document cumulative impact of all incidents - Show escalating pattern of harassment - Demonstrate objective severity of individual incidents - Include witness testimony about overall environment

"The Employee Was Overly Sensitive"

Employer Defense: Claiming reasonable person wouldn't find conduct offensive. Counter-Strategies: - Reference legal standards, not employer's opinion - Provide witness testimony about offensive nature - Document similar complaints from other employees - Show objective measures of hostile environment