Regulatory Harassment

Extracted Attributes

• Legal Contrast

  Hostile Work Environment (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964)

• Primary Target

  Elon Musk

• Subsidy Denied

  $900 million for Rural Broadband

• Involved Agencies

  FCC, DOJ, IRS

• Alleged Perpetrator

  Joe Biden Administration

Timeline

• FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr publicly condemns the rejection of the $900 million Starlink subsidy, framing it as regulatory harassment. (Source: eb4480db-8906-408f-b8da-c7f2622c98ce)

  2023-12-12

• Epic Games wins antitrust lawsuit against Google, a decision discussed alongside regulatory actions against Musk. (Source: eb4480db-8906-408f-b8da-c7f2622c98ce)

  2023-12-11

Hostile work environment

In United States labor law, a hostile work environment exists when one's behavior within a workplace creates an environment that is difficult or uncomfortable for another person to work in, due to illegal discrimination. However, a working environment that is unpleasant and frightening for the victim due to sexual advances that have been denied by the victim, is what constitutes hostile work environment sexual harassment. Common complaints in sexual harassment lawsuits include sexual gossip unrelated to work, jokes about physical contact inappropriate in workplace, commentary on physical appearance/attractiveness, joking about sex acts, fondling, suggestive remarks, sexually-suggestive photos displayed in the workplace, use of sexual language, or off-color jokes. Small matters, annoyances, and isolated incidents are usually not considered to be statutory violations of the discrimination laws. For a violation to impose liability, the conduct must create a work environment that would be intimidating, hostile, or offensive to a reasonable person. An employer can be held liable for failing to prevent these workplace conditions, unless it can prove that it attempted to prevent the harassment and that the employee failed to take advantage of existing harassment counter-measures or tools provided by the employer. A hostile work environment may also be created when management acts in a manner designed to make an employee quit in retaliation for some action. For example, if an employee reported safety violations at work, was injured, attempted to join a union, or reported regulatory violations by management, and management's response was to harass and pressure the employee to quit. Employers have tried to force employees to quit by imposing unwarranted discipline, reducing hours, cutting wages, or transferring the complaining employee to a distant work location. The United States Supreme Court stated in Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. that Title VII is "not a general civility code". Thus, federal law does not prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not extremely serious. Rather, the conduct must be so objectively offensive as to alter the conditions of the individual's employment. The conditions of employment are altered only if the harassment culminates in a tangible employment action or is sufficiently severe or pervasive.

Web Search Results

• [PDF] Sexual Harassment in Federal Workplaces

  Regulations governing the Federal workforce (29 C.F.R. §1604.11) characterize sexual harassment as “[u]nwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.” Such actions can create “an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment” or coerce the target6 to comply with the harasser’s demands to engage in sexual activities.7 Whether the harassment is legally actionable depends on whether it meets certain criteria, such as severity or [...] Method The findings and recommendations in this report are based on— y A literature review of topics related to sexual harassment from a variety of sources, including academic journals, Federal agency reports regarding sexual harassment, and guidance and reports from Federal agencies, such as the EEOC. y A review of relevant Federal laws and regulations. y A review of case law (litigation and decisions) on sexual harassment, in both the public and private sectors. y Surveys of Federal [...] Federal employees are most likely to recognize the following behaviors as sexual harassment: pressure for sexual favors or dates, offers of preferential treatment for sexual favors, and unwelcome sexual teasing, jokes, comments or questions or other communications of a sexual nature, as well as stalking and sexual assault. That recognition may reflect familiarity with high-profile litigation involving these blatant forms of sexual harassment. However, employees increasingly realize that other

• Harassment, workplace relationships and non-financial misconduct

  There is a clear need, across all sectors, to pay real attention to workplace behaviours. The legal and regulatory focus on harassment, sexual harassment, bullying and non-financial misconduct does not look likely to diminish, and for private capital managers, the breadth of third party interactions and the reputational sensitivity of portfolio level events increase the level of risk. [...] This definition is not limited to sexual harassment, or harassment related to a protected characteristic (age, race and so on) and therefore brings a broader range of bullying and abusive conduct into scope. The expanded scope of the Code of Conduct (COCON) will have implications for regulatory references and serious cases of NFM will need to be disclosed to new employers. [...] There is an important overlap here with sexual harassment, as the legislation specifically calls out unwanted conduct that is, effectively, retaliation for having rejected a sexual overture. Workplace relationships that breakdown can be common triggers for complaints of this type of harassment. ## FCA focus on NFM The FCA has long treated sexual misconduct, bullying and harassment as potential NFM falling within the scope of potential regulatory enforcement.

• Harassment | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

  1. Home 2. Harassment PrintEmailShare The information on this webpage is being reviewed for compliance with the law and executive orders and will be revised. Harassment Harassment is a form of employment discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, (ADA). [...] Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation, transgender status, or pregnancy), national origin, older age (beginning at age 40), disability, or genetic information (including family medical history). Harassment becomes unlawful where 1) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment, or 2) the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider [...] Offensive conduct may include, but is not limited to, offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or name calling, physical assaults or threats, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs, offensive objects or pictures, and interference with work performance. Harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 2, § 11023 - Harassment and Discrimination ...

  State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare. No prior version found. [...] Please help us improve our site! No thank you Cornell Law School Search Cornell # Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 2, § 11023 - Harassment and Discrimination Prevention and Correction State Regulations Compare (a) Employers have an affirmative duty to take reasonable steps to prevent and promptly correct discriminatory and harassing conduct. (Gov. Code, § 12940(k).) [...] (6) Instructs supervisors to report any complaints of misconduct to a designated company representative, such as a human resources manager, so the company can try to resolve the claim internally. Employers with 5 or more employees are required to include this as a topic in mandated sexual harassment prevention training, pursuant to section 11024 of these regulations.

• Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace - EEOC

  Under the first part of a harassment claim, harassment (or harassing conduct) is only covered by federal EEO laws if it is based on one (or more) of the individual’s characteristics that are protected by these laws. In this document, the terms “harassment” and “harassing conduct” are generally used interchangeably. The terms refer to conduct that can, but does not necessarily always, constitute or contribute to unlawful harassment, including a hostile work environment. Not all harassing conduct [...] This guidance serves as a resource for employers, employees, and practitioners; for EEOC staff and the staff of other agencies that investigate, adjudicate, or litigate harassment claims or conduct outreach on the topic of workplace harassment; and for courts deciding harassment issues. This document is not intended to be a survey of all legal principles that might be appropriate in a particular case.5 The contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law, are not meant to bind [...] Title VII prohibits discrimination, including unlawful harassment, based on race. Harassment is based on a complainant’s race if it is because the complainant is Black, Asian, White, multiracial, or another race. Examples of harassing conduct based on race include racial epithets or offensive comments about members of a particular race, or harassment based on stereotypes about the complainant’s race.( It also can include harassment based on traits or characteristics linked to an individual’s