Three Questions: Hostile Work Environment Harassment in 2025

January 15, 2025

FELTG instructor Katherine Atkinson will present Stay Up to Date: Hostile Work Environment Harassment in 2025 on Feb. 19 from 1 – 3 pm ET.  We asked Katie three questions as she prepared her presentation.

FELTG: You’ll be discussing the EEOC’s most recent guidance on harassment. What is the most important takeaway from that guidance?  

KA: It’s hard to say what the most important takeaway is from the guidance as it is very extensive – that’s why we need two hours for the class! There’s a lot of really important information. But if you are making me pick, I’d say the clarifications of any changes to the analysis of employer liability based on the identity of the harasser. The EEOC talks about who in an organization constitutes an “alter ego” of the employer and how liability attaches to such a person’s actions versus those of a standard supervisor or a non-supervisory employee. Thoroughly understanding liability analysis is so important, of course, because such an understanding can help employers stop and fix harassment so as to avoid liability.

FELTG: There seems to be confusion about what actually constitutes “harassment” that is actually actionable. How do you determine if it’s actionable EEO harassment?  

KA: Well, we will spend a fair amount of time on this in the class, but the super abbreviated version is that actionable harassment occurs where an employee was subjected to offensive, unwelcome treatment due to a protected category that was sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. But that sentence contains a bunch of legal terms, which I know can feel meaningless. During the class, I’ll break down what each of them mean, with emphasis on the new guidance. In particular, another possible answer I might have given to the last question is how the Commission clarified the relevance of a conclusion that the allegedly harassing behavior was “unwelcome,” so I am looking forward to talking that through with participants.

FELTG: Any thoughts on actions agencies can take to limit workplace harassment? 

KA: Send employees to FELTG classes! My fellow instructors and I love to talk to employees at all levels about the scope of employer liability, which includes explaining that harassing behavior constitutes misconduct and, thus, is actionable. So, even if attending FELTG classes is not an option – conveying to employees that harassing behavior is misconduct and taking action every time it occurs. The action should, of course, be proportional to the offense, but if employers stepped in every time an employee behaved inappropriately, I really believe we could root out harassing behavior in the workplace. Consequences are key to incentivizing good behavior. [email protected]