What is considered harassment by law?

Workplace harassment

Under Title VII and related statutes, harassment is unlawful when it is based on race, colour, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, age (40+), disability or genetic information. Two forms are recognised:

• Quid pro quo — a job benefit is conditioned on submitting to conduct, usually sexual.
• Hostile work environment — conduct severe or pervasive enough that a reasonable person would find the workplace abusive. A single extremely serious incident can qualify; ordinary rudeness, a difficult manager or an isolated offensive remark usually does not.

The deadline that ends most claims

A charge must normally be filed with the EEOC within 180 days of the conduct, extended to 300 days in states with their own fair-employment agency. This runs long before any lawsuit, and missing it usually ends the federal claim. Several states give longer periods under state law.

Criminal harassment and stalking

State statutes typically require a course of conduct — repeated acts — directed at a specific person, serving no legitimate purpose, that would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress or fear. Related offences include cyberstalking, threats and violations of protective orders. A civil protective order can usually be sought at the same time, on a lower standard of proof.

What helps in either setting

A contemporaneous record: dates, what was said or done, who was present, screenshots kept in their original form, and a written report to the employer or the police. Reporting in writing also triggers the employer's legal duty to investigate, and failing to act on a report is itself part of many successful claims.