Sexual Harassment Attorneys Top Answers: If an employee tells a dirty joke outside of the office, can she still file a sexual harassment claim? Does having sex with one co-worker allow you to be propositioned for sex by your boss? Can I waive my sexual harassment rights?
The common sense answer to these questions should be unequivocally, that no matter what an employee does outside of work, she is not agreeing to be subjected to sexually offensive conduct. Does a woman who goes to a strip club or sees a sexually explicit rated R movie somehow automatically consent to having her boss show her sexually explicit pictures? That sounds ludicrous. Does telling a joke of a sexual nature to friends at a party or a bar mean that the woman can no longer be sexually harassed by similar jokes told in the work place? Certainly, this would be preposterous. Everything is a matter of context. Talking about sex on a girls’ night out is different than in Church or in the middle of a PTA meeting. Context matters. However, there is not an abundance of law on this subject.
Our sexual harassment lawyers have blogged about this type of failed argument in a race harassment and discrimination context. In that blog , we talked about a boss that argued that the use of the N-word by white supervisors could not be offensive to black employees who used the word and voluntarily listened to the word “nigga” in rap music. The court rejected this asserted race discrimination defense: “the word ‘nigga’ outside the work place and in the context of their music is completely irrelevant to whether Defendants subjected them to a racially discriminatory hostile work environment.”
A case out New Zealand is on point with regard to sexual harassment. In fact, this sexual harassment case shows that no matter what a woman does, outside or even at her job, does not give a boss the right to sexually harass her. In New Zealand, prostitution is legal. A female brothel sex worker (i.e. prostitute), filed a sexual harassment claim against her boss, who she accused of saying that weekends were his “play time” to get stoned and have sex with them in his “special room.” According to the story, the boss would tell then female worker details about the sex that he has had and that he liked “young, skinny girls.” The supervisor would talk about how the other female prostitutes would give him sex and how he would “take her out of her comfort zone.” Some people will think that this woman chose this life. I disagree. Women are free to chose the boundary of what makes them comfortable or what is acceptable to them. Just because they choose to engage in dirty talk or sex with some men, even if it is for money, does not mean that they automatically consent to being talked to by their bosses and supervisors on the job in the same fashion. In this case, the employer and boss lost and had to pay $25,000. I would expect the same result under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or Ohio’s R.C. § 4112.99.
In the end, no woman deserves unwelcomed sexually harassing conduct, and only those women should get to chose what is welcomed and unwelcomed – even prostitutes.
Sexual harassment is unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and similar Ohio laws. Sexual harassment is a form of gender discrimination. If you feel that you are being sexually harassed or are working in a sexually charged or hostile working environment, you should not wait to call the right attorney at 866-797-6040 to schedule a free and confidential consultation. At Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, you will meet with a sexual harassment lawyer/hostile work environment attorney to find out what your legal rights are and the best way to protect them. Sexual harrassment is a form of gender discrimination, and employers should be held accountable if they discriminate against female workers in any fashion – but particularly for sexual harrassment. It does not matter if you have been wrongfully fired or are still employed, there is no reason to wait to find out what your legal rights are and how to protect yourself from sexual harassment and gender discrimination.
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The materials available at the top of this page and at this gender discrimination, wrongful termination, and sex harassment law website are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. If you are still asking “what should I do …”, “I’m being sexually harassed …” “my supervisor grabbed my…”, “my boss is touching…,” “I’ve been wrongfully terminated,” or “how do I …”, your best course is to contact an Ohio sexual harassment attorney/hostile work environment lawyer to obtain advice with respect to sexual harassment/hostile work environment questions or any particular employment law issue. Use and access to this employment law website or any of the links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship. The legal opinions expressed at the top of this page or through this employment law website are the opinions of the individual lawyer and may not reflect the opinions of Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, Brian Spitz, or any individual attorney.