What are my rights against workplace harassment in Alabama?

1. Federal Floor. Title VII (15+ employees) is the principal harassment vehicle in Alabama. Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986), established the hostile-environment theory.

2. State Statute & Agency. Alabama has no general state fair-employment statute for race, sex, or sexual harassment in the private sector. The only state employment-discrimination statute is the Alabama Age Discrimination in Employment Act (AADEA), Ala. Code § 25-1-20 et seq., which covers age and includes employers with 20+ employees. No state agency parallels the EEOC for race/sex claims; claimants file directly with the EEOC.

3. Standard for Hostile Work Environment. The federal "severe or pervasive" standard from Harris v. Forklift Systems, 510 U.S. 17 (1993), governs.

4. Protected Categories. Federal Title VII categories: race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity per Bostock), and national origin, plus age (ADEA/AADEA), disability (ADA), pregnancy (PDA), and genetic information (GINA).

5. Quid Pro Quo vs Hostile Environment. Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775 (1998), and Burlington v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742 (1998), control.

6. Employer Liability. Strict liability for supervisor harassment with tangible action; Faragher/Ellerth affirmative defense available otherwise.

7. Mandatory Training. Alabama has no statewide harassment-training mandate.

8. Filing Deadline. EEOC: 180 days (Alabama is a non-deferral state). AADEA: 180 days to EEOC; court action within 2 years.

9. NDA Restrictions. Alabama has not enacted a statewide ban on sexual-harassment NDAs; federal Speak Out Act (2022) voids certain pre-dispute NDAs covering sexual harassment.

This is legal information, not legal advice.