When offering respect in the workplace training for employees and supervisors, I emphasize that an employee who laughs at sex jokes in the workplace is the same employee who may later sue for sexual harassment. Like Little Ladner did. (Yes, Little Ladner) More after the jump… * * * Ms.…
I’ve been searching for gold recently. So, I knew I was on to something good when I started reading this opinion last week, and wasn’t sure whether what I was reading was a sexual harassment case or a porno script. What can I say? I like the plots. Folks, if…
Of all employment claims presented to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, retaliation numero uno. It’s been that way since 2010. There are three essential elements of a retaliation claim: (1) protected activity — opposition to discrimination or participation in the statutory complaint process; (2) adverse action; and (3) causal connection…
Or sexually harass your co-workers. Unless, of course, you consider my working Hollywood manuscript: “An EEOC Complaint Is Your Free Pass to Sexually Harass.” I know, the title needs work, but with C. Thomas Howell, Tawny Kitaen real star power and a producer. ** Immediately regrets sixth shot of Drambuie with breakfast…
Duh, right? Still, a federal appellate court recently reminded us (here) that, indeed, bad things happen when, every week for several months, a male supervisor tells his female subordinate that her husband is “not taking care of [her] in bed.” Though not threatening, they were more than merely offensive. For…
The original working title for the post was “The Third Circuit takes a deuce on my ‘Pottymouths’ post.” I meant it in the figurative sense. Otherwise, I would be at a loss for words with IT. More so than usual… {Napalms browser history} But, fortunately, good taste and high morals…
I assure you that what inspired this post had nothing to do with the facts of the case; namely: the female plaintiff claiming that her female-lawyer boss groped her; or the plantiff’s Facebook posts about pole-dancing and calling her breasts “milk factories”. That’s all purely coincidental. Indeed, it sounds like…
When an employer is faced with a sexual-harassment lawsuit, one of its best defenses is that the company took reasonable care (e.g., policy, training) to prevent sexual harassment (and then addressed complaints in a manner that is reasonably designed to end the sexual harassment) In EEOC v. Spud Seller (opinion…
You’ve got an anti-harassment policy. All managers and employees have copies and you just completed training on the policy for your entire workforce. Sweet! But is your policy bulletproof? I mean really bulletproof? And if an employee claims that a harasser lurks in your workplace, if sued, will a court…
Courts analyzing anti-discrimination statutes such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act mandate that employers educate employees about discrimination in the workplace and provide a way for them to complain. Then, once made aware of discrimination in the workplace, the employer…