Page 18 - Microsoft Word - Updated Book Draft 2 23 2017 (1)

employees are permitted to display sexually explicit

images in their workspaces, or persistently tell off-color

jokes or stories in the presence of a female employee.

The behavior, if directed specifically at the female

employee, could constitute sexual harassment, and

therefore the same behavior generalized in the workplace

could be actionable as a hostile work environment.

In contrast, if a group of employees are generally

hostile to another employee without any discriminatory

intent, no matter how bad the behavior or how actually

hostile the work environment is, it is probably not

unlawful. The truth is most situations that an employee

might label a “hostile work environment” fall somewhere

in between these two extremes, and you may need legal

advice to determine whether there is any legal claim that

could arise from the behavior.

14| Rules of the Road