Legal experts say that toxic workplaces might not be hostile work environments as defined by the law, but neither type of workplace should be tolerated. Here is an overview of how toxic workplaces 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 challenging 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 experience conduct that does the following things: