profanity in the office
TALLEY
100 Posts
Even though, in our employee handbook, we prohibit the use of profane language, we are finding we must address this issue lately. We have recently experienced a major turnover of staff in our sales dept. I guess the use of this language isn't new, but the new people object to hearing certain words. We are addressing the matter by counseling and allowing the opportunity to repair the working atmosphere. One of the newcomers, however, insists that use of the "f-word", (such as, where is that"X*#&ing" file?)is actionable, as in bring litigation against the company for allowing it to happen. Is this true & if so, under what protection. How about if the same word was used to reference an individual, (such as, get out of my face, you "X*#&ing [female dog]"!) Is this actionable & again, if yes, how?
Comments
sexual harassment lawsuit under federal and state law.
John Vering
may not create the most productive and wholesome work atmosphere, it is not
per se actionable. The courts have routinely cautioned that the prohibition
on sexual harassment is not intended to create a federal civility code, and
that Title VII is not the "Clean Language Act." The test is not whether
someone is offended, but rather whether people of one protected class (in
the case of sexual harassment, it is male v. female) are being treated
differently. The use of the "f word" is not actionable unless it is
routinely being used with, for example, women. Even then its use would have
to be "severe and pervasive," which requires more than occasional use. The
use of profanity describing a female dog was recently the topic of a federal
appeals court decision. Believe it or not, whether it is a problem will in
part depend on whether it is used as a verb ("Quit your b------g") or a noun
("You are a f---g b-----.) What a world! Bob