Toxic workplaces might not be hostile work environments as defined by the law, but neither type of workplace should be tolerated, legal experts say. Here is an overview of how toxic workplaces can differ from hostile work environments and what benefits employers can reap through harassment prevention training.

Hostile Is More Than Unpleasant

Employees often mistake unpleasant bosses for the form of unlawful harassment known as a hostile work environment, noted James McDonald Jr., an attorney with Fisher Phillips in Irvine, Calif., and Tampa, Fla.

A boss can be tough without being a harasser, despite some workers thinking otherwise, observed Lori Armstrong Halber, an attorney with Fox Rothschild in Warrington, Pa., and Philadelphia.

“Employees often are surprised to learn that anti-harassment laws ban a rather narrow range of inappropriate conduct,” said Kathryn Brown, an attorney with Duane Morris in Philadelphia.

To impose liability on an employer for a hostile work environment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Brown noted, an employee must show that they experienced conduct that:

1) Was unwelcome.

2) Was based on the employee’s protected characteristic.

3) Was sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the employee’s terms and conditions of employment and create an abusive work environment.

4) Is imputable to the employer.

Hostile work environment claims are more common than “quid pro quo” (this for that) harassment claims. “The number of quid...

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