Workplace Verbal Abuse Attorney

Verbal abuse in the workplace is a subject few people discuss. It’s easy to assume your supervisor or manager can talk a certain way to subordinates and that a higher-up would reprimand or retaliate against you for reporting abuse. However, a New York City workplace verbal abuse attorney knows verbal abuse is a real problem in today’s workplaces—especially in the highly competitive metropolitan area of New York City. Understanding your rights in a situation of verbal abuse can help you prevent and spread awareness of this troubling subject.

What Does Workplace Verbal Abuse Look Like?

Typically, a verbal abuser is in a leadership position within the company you work for, such as a manager, boss, or supervisor with employees working beneath him or her. Verbal abuse can be obvious, like consistent yelling or name-calling. It can also be less conspicuous, spreading negative effects more quietly but still causing harm. The main reason sexual harassment in the workplace is so devastating is because of the mental, emotional, and psychological repercussions of dealing with abuse in a place where you should be safe.

If someone at work systematically belittles you, offends you, complains about you, or says inappropriate things to you based on your age, sex, gender, race, or sexual orientation, you suffer from verbal abuse. Verbal abuse is a form of discrimination in New York City, not constructive criticism or hazing the new employees. The line between being a strict boss and being a verbal abuser can be fuzzy, but abuse has a few key distinctions:

• Complaining about a person or a person’s work repeatedly
• Disrespectful or offensive language
• Discriminatory language
• Mean remarks or name-calling
• Words intended to humiliate or shame

Your boss yelling at you for making a crucial error on a large project isn’t the same as verbal abuse. It is, however, if he or she uses discriminatory or sexually offensive language, or if he or she consistently yells at you no matter what. Workers in NYC have the right to safe, comfortable workplaces free from verbal abuse and harassment. When an abusive boss strips employees of these rights, victims can file claims with the NYC courts.

What to Do if You’re a Victim of Workplace Verbal Abuse

If your workplace is a hostile environment because of someone’s tendency to verbally abuse you in private or in front of your colleagues, you have options. First, let the abuser know that you aren’t comfortable with how he or she talks to you or about you. If you don’t feel safe enough to approach your abuser, go directly to human resources or the department in charge of abuse and harassment and file an official complaint. Either way, let someone at your company know what’s going on and how it makes you feel.

If speaking up at work doesn’t solve the problem, contact your local Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in NYC and file an administrative charge against your abuser. The organization will investigate your situation and try to mediate a resolution. If mediation fails or your abuser refuses to cooperate, hire a New York City workplace verbal abuse attorney to file a claim in civil court.

Seek Legal Help for Your Workplace Abuse Case

Verbal abuse is an incredibly serious offense; you shouldn’t take it lightly. It can lead to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and many other damages. The most common injuries in sexual harassment and verbal abuse cases are mental and emotional damages, not physical injuries. Thus, compensation goes beyond tangible damages and into the intangible: recovery for mental anguish and emotional distress.

When you need an aggressive, reliable New York City workplace verbal abuse attorney to defend your rights in front of a jury, trust Joseph & Norinsberg, LLC.