MIAMI, FL – Workplace harassment based on gender is prohibited under federal and Florida law. Miami employment attorney Anisley Tarragona of BT Law Group, PLLC (https://btattorneys.com/miami-sexual-harassment-lawyer/) explains the types of harassment prohibited, the process for filing claims, and the damages available to victims.
According to Miami employment attorney Anisley Tarragona, workplace harassment includes unwelcome advances, requests for favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a nature that affects employment decisions or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. “The law protects all employees regardless of gender, gender identity, orientation, or pregnancy status,” explains Tarragona. “Harassment can occur between people of any gender combination and can be committed by a supervisor, manager, coworker, client, customer, or vendor.”
Miami employment attorney Anisley Tarragona emphasizes that for conduct to qualify as actionable harassment, it must be unwelcome and either severe or pervasive. A single extremely serious incident can meet this standard, while a pattern of less severe incidents creating a toxic work environment over time also qualifies. “Courts apply both an objective standard—would a reasonable person find this conduct offensive—and a subjective standard—did you personally find it unwelcome,” Tarragona notes.
Harassment claims fall into two main categories under federal and Florida law. The first type occurs when a supervisor or person with authority conditions employment benefits on compliance with unwelcome demands. “This can be explicit or implicit, such as a supervisor making repeated advances while discussing your upcoming performance review,” the employment attorney explains. “Because the harasser uses their position of authority, employers are strictly liable for this type of harassment by supervisors.”
The second type creates a hostile work environment when unwelcome conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create working conditions that a reasonable person would find intimidating, hostile, or abusive. “This type can be committed by anyone in the workplace—supervisors, coworkers, clients, customers, or vendors,” Tarragona points out. “A single severe incident or a pattern of conduct over time can create a hostile work environment.”
Anisley Tarragona of BT Law Group, PLLC, notes that the Miami-Dade County Human Rights Ordinance provides an additional layer of protection for employees in Miami-Dade County. “You can file a complaint with the Miami-Dade Commission on Human Rights within 180 days of the last incident,” she advises. “The ordinance offers remedies beyond what state and federal law provide, including actual damages and punitive damages when the employer acted with malice or reckless indifference.”
To prove harassment in Florida, employees must demonstrate four elements. “You must show you were subjected to unwelcome harassment, the harassment was based on gender, and it was severe or pervasive enough to alter the terms and conditions of your employment,” Tarragona explains. Strong evidence includes dates, times, and locations of each incident, exact words spoken or actions taken, names of witnesses, emails, text messages, photos, and complaints filed with human resources.
Before filing a lawsuit, employees must file an administrative charge with a government agency. The EEOC requires filing within 300 days of the last incident, while the Florida Commission on Human Relations allows 365 days. “The Miami-Dade Commission on Human Rights has a 180-day filing deadline,” notes Tarragona. “Missing these deadlines can destroy your claim.”
Victims can recover several types of damages. Back pay covers wages lost because of the harassment, while front pay compensates for future lost earnings when reinstatement is not feasible. “Emotional distress damages compensate for the psychological harm, including anxiety, depression, humiliation, and damage to personal relationships,” Tarragona explains. “You can recover the cost of therapy, psychiatric treatment, and medication.”
For Miami employees experiencing workplace harassment, understanding legal protections and filing requirements may be essential to pursuing remedies and holding employers accountable.
About BT Law Group, PLLC:
BT Law Group, PLLC is a Miami-based law firm focused on employment law matters, including workplace harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination. Led by attorneys Jason D. Berkowitz and Anisley Tarragona, both of whom previously represented employers at national labor and employment firms, the firm represents employees throughout Miami-Dade County. Anisley Tarragona is fluent in Spanish and serves Miami’s diverse community. For consultations, call (305) 507-8506.
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