Since the pandemic, many workplaces have shifted to a fully remote environment, where employees rarely, if ever, come to the office, or where teams have members distributed across the country. Employers may assume that allowing workers to work from home can help prevent circumstances that lead to employee harassment. However, workplace harassment can also occur among co-workers and teams who work together remotely, and employers should prepare themselves accordingly.
What Constitutes Harassment in a Remote Work Setting?
Workplace harassment can include sexual harassment, bullying, physical intimidation, and discriminatory behavior like offensive comments or exclusion of workers based on a protected characteristic. While many associate this behavior with in-person interactions, harassment can also occur in a remote work setting where employees communicate with one another over email, collaboration software like Slack or Microsoft Teams, or videoconference. Examples of harassment in remote work environments include:
- Inappropriate text messages, chat communications, or emails
- Offensive jokes or comments made during video calls
- Exclusion from meetings or group chats based on protected characteristics, such as race, age, gender/sex, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation
Harassment in a remote work setting can expose employers to the same liability as in-office harassment, as it does not have to occur in person to violate state and federal laws prohibiting workplace harassment.
Employer Liability for Remote Harassment
State and federal laws prohibiting harassment in employment bar harassment whether it occurs in person or in a remote work setting. Relevant laws include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. An employer may become liable for harassment in a remote work environment if they knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take reasonable efforts to correct workers’ harassing behavior, such as disciplining or terminating workers who harass co-workers or transferring them to different teams. Employers may also bear liability for remote workplace harassment when a company lacks policies that enable workers to report harassment to human resources or management. Businesses should promptly investigate allegations of harassment among remote teams and ensure they consistently enforce company policies among in-person and remote teams.
Preventing and Addressing Harassment in Remote Teams
Employers can take proactive steps to address and prevent harassment in remote work environments, including:
- Updating employee handbooks to explicitly prohibit harassing conduct in virtual settings
- Training employees and supervisors on respectful communication via electronic messaging or video calls
- Developing systems or tools that allow workers to report alleged harassment in remote teams confidentially
- Instructing managers to document complaints and investigations into reported harassment
Finally, employers should focus on creating a company culture that stresses respect and inclusiveness among workers, whether in-person or online, as people often overlook the effect of their words and actions while sitting behind a computer screen.
Best Practices for Employers
Other best practices that employers can adopt for their remote teams include:
- Conducting regular check-ins with remote workers and holding anonymous surveys to assess the culture of remote teams
- Establishing expectations for communications in video meetings and group chats
- Providing HR hotlines (whether via phone or through online portals)
Finally, management should remember to set the tone for workers by modeling professionalism in remote work environments and adopting a zero-tolerance policy for harassing behavior.
Contact an Employment Law Attorney Today
Remote work environments can still allow workers to harass their co-workers. If you’re an employer facing allegations of a culture of harassment, contact Brick Business Law, P.A. today for a free, confidential consultation with an employment lawyer to learn more about protecting your good reputation and limiting the possibility of legal actions against you.
