A hostile work environment claim requires proof of 1 membership in a protected group 2 harassment 3 based on a factor rendered impermissible by title vii 4 the harassment affected a term condition or privilege of employment and 5 the employer knew or should have known of the harassment yet failed to address it promptly. Potential client note we are no longer accepting any new eeoc cases at this time in todays fast legal answers series ill be defining and explaining what a hostile work environment is i hear this phrase thrown around so much that i think many people dont actually know what a hostile work environment actually is is it an unpleasant work environment. The phrase hostile work environment is a civil law term that refers to the behavior of an individual in a workplace that creates an environment that makes work difficult or uncomfortable for another person this includes behavior that may leave another employee feeling afraid or violated such offensive behavior happens in many forms including sexual harassment. free ebook hostile work environment employment law series uploaded by john creasey to establish a hostile work environment under title vii 1981 or 1983 a plaintiff must show that the workplace is permeated with discriminatory intimidation ridicule and insult that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the. read hostile work environment employment law series uploaded by richard scarry a hostile work environment claim requires proof of 1 membership in a protected group 2 harassment 3 based on a factor rendered impermissible by title vii 4 the harassment affected a term condition or privilege of employment and 5 the