Q: To be clear, a hostile work environment, wrongful termination, harassment, and/or retaliation are NOT illegal ?
Are not illegal if an employee is not in a protected class; Not right, but not illegal, correct?
A:
Correct.
Unless the harassment or discrimination was based on a protected class, it is not unlawful.
Unless the retaliation was triggered by legally protected conduct, it is not unlawful.
The phrase "hostile work environment" is often misunderstood to mean any work environement that is filled with hostility. However, a hostile work environment is unlawful only if the hostility is toward the employee's membership in a protected class of people.
Wrongful termination is not termination that is unfair. It is termination that is in violation of a longstanding public policy.
Good luck to you.
Take care,
A: A hostile work environment, wrongful termination, harassment, and/or retaliation are illegal, when motivated by hostility to: (i) a protected class; or (ii) the employee opposing illegal conduct or exercising legally protected rights - such as taking a protected medical leave or asking about their proper pay.
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