What Discrimination and Harassment at Work Mean
A claim for discrimination or harassment rests entirely on the Georgian Labour Code. Under the Code, discrimination is the intentional or negligent distinction, exclusion or preference of a person on grounds of race, colour, language, ethnic or social origin, nationality, origin, property or social status, employment contract status, place of residence, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability, state of health, membership of a religious, public, political or other association, family status or other opinion, where it aims at or causes the negation or impairment of equal opportunity or treatment in employment and professional activity. The Code distinguishes direct discrimination — less favourable treatment compared with a person in a comparable situation — from indirect discrimination, where a neutral provision, criterion or practice places a person at a disadvantage unless it is objectively justified by a legitimate aim and necessary, proportionate means.
Harassment at the workplace, including sexual harassment, is expressly declared a form of discrimination: unwanted conduct related to a protected ground that aims at or causes a violation of dignity and the creation of an intimidating, hostile, degrading or offensive environment. Sexual harassment specifically covers spoken or addressed phrases of a sexual nature, the showing of genitals or any other non-verbal physical conduct of a sexual nature. Retaliation is separately prohibited: terminating the contract or any negative treatment of an employee because they filed a statement or complaint to protect themselves from discrimination, or cooperated with the relevant body, is banned.
Burden of Proof and Employer Liability
The most consequential procedural rule in discrimination disputes is the redistribution of the burden of proof. If a candidate or employee points to facts or circumstances that create a reasonable assumption that the employer violated the prohibition of discrimination, the burden of proving the opposite shifts to the employer. In practice this means you do not have to prove discrimination outright — it is enough to present facts supporting a reasonable assumption, and the employer must then justify its conduct.
A violation of the prohibition of discrimination — including direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and sexual harassment — triggers a warning or a fine imposed under the procedure established by the Code, in the triple amount of the corresponding fine. A repeat of the same violation within 1 calendar year of the imposition of the administrative penalty results in a fine at twice the amount. Critically, imposing liability on the offending employee does not release the employer: the employer may itself be held liable if it became aware of harassment or sexual harassment and failed to notify the Labour Inspectorate and/or failed to take appropriate measures to stop the conduct.
The Mandatory Pre-Claim Procedure and the Deadlines
The conciliation procedures of Article 62 of the Code apply to discrimination cases as well. One party sends the other written notice of the dispute with precise demands; the other party must reply in writing within 10 calendar days of receipt. The written decision the parties adopt becomes part of the existing employment contract. If no agreement is reached within 14 calendar days of receipt of the notice, either party may apply to the court, and a party that evades the conciliation procedures carries the burden of proving the facts of the dispute.
The limitation period matters equally: a claim arising from the Labour Code other than the special termination claim must be brought within 1 year from the moment the person knew or should have known of the violation of the right. Timely documentation of the facts — schedules, notes, witnesses, written complaints sent to the employer — is what preserves both the deadline and the basis for the reasonable assumption.
What Does Not Apply in Georgia
The American pre-litigation machinery of filing a charge with a specialised administrative agency such as the EEOC under Title VII does not exist in the Georgian system, and this page must not assume it does. The Georgian path is the written-notice conciliation procedure, then the court — or arbitration if the parties agree. Your claim is therefore built from beginning to end on the Georgian Labour Code, which alone carries it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we answer the questions that arise most frequently in disputes of this kind in our practice.
What must I prove in a discrimination claim?
It suffices to point to facts or circumstances creating a reasonable assumption that the employer violated the prohibition of discrimination. From that moment the burden of proof lies with the employer, who must prove the contrary.
What penalty faces an employer for harassment?
A violation triggers a warning or a fine in the triple amount; a repeat violation within 1 calendar year of the administrative penalty results in a fine at twice the amount of the corresponding fine.
The employer knew about the harassment and did nothing — is it liable?
Yes. If the employer became aware of harassment or sexual harassment and did not notify the Labour Inspectorate and/or did not take appropriate measures, liability may be imposed on the employer. Sanctioning the offending employee does not release it.
How long do I have to file a claim?
A claim arising from the Labour Code may be brought within 1 year from the moment you knew or should have known of the violation of your right.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The advocates of Legal.ge handle discrimination and harassment cases end to end: we assess your facts against the protected grounds, gather and fix the evidence, draft the written notice commencing the conciliation procedure with precise demands, engage the Labour Inspectorate where appropriate and represent you in court. Contact us — early legal response is decisive in exactly this category of disputes.