Office Christmas parties and similar\ngatherings pose an issue for employees. It’s inevitable that alcoholic\nbeverages will be part of the festivities. That can lead to some loosening up a\nlittle too much and engaging in unexpected behaviors. One of the more common\nissues is unwanted sexual comments and advancements that constitute sexual\nharassment. If it happens after hours at a party, is it still sexual harassment\nin the workplace?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Workplace harassment takes place when someone\nmakes another feel belittled or threatened. The harassment can be sexual in\nnature, but it can also occur due to religion, disability, nationality\/race, or\npregnancy. Typically, the laws prevent this type of behavior from happening in\nthe workplace. What if the Christmas party is held at a local restaurant or\nhotel? Does that change the laws? Is it still against the law?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Workplace harassment occurs when someone feels\nunsafe at work. You have Quid Pro Quo harassment where there is a threat of \u201cif\nyou don’t do this, I’ll do that…\u201d It often involves something sexual in\nnature, such as a boss telling his employee that if she sleeps with him during\nan upcoming business trip, he’ll give her a promotion. There is harassment that\ncauses a \u201chostile work environment,\u201d such as a worker who reports what a\nco-worker says about a client. The worker reports what was said and many in the\ndepartment label him a snitch and dump drinks on him, take his items, and make\nhis day unpleasant as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The key here is that the harassment has to\ncreate an unsafe or intimidating workplace. If you don’t like something that’s\nsaid and find it annoying, annoyance isn’t generally going to create an unsafe\nworkplace. If a co-worker has too much to drink and gets flirtatious but\ndoesn’t advance from there and apologizes for the behavior after sobering up,\nit doesn’t meet the criteria for an unsafe workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The laws do not specify where this harassment\nmust take place or when it happens in order for it to count. If the person\nfeels unsafe at work following a situation that occurred outside of work hours\nor at another location, the Department of Labor considers it workplace\nharassment. Say an employee is at an office Christmas party and is hit on by a\nmanager. The employee refuses, and the manager makes threats. The next day at\nwork, the employee struggles with what happens and cannot perform the job\nduties that are expected. When that manager enters the room, the person begins\nto panic that the manager is about to fire him\/her. That can qualify as\nworkplace harassment, even if the party was off-site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You don’t have to have been the victim. If you\nspotted a co-worker being harassed at the Christmas party and speak up, you’re\nprotected by workplace harassment laws. The person at the Christmas party that\nis harassing you or someone else doesn’t have to be a co-worker. Under U.S.\nemployment harassment laws, the person doing the harassing could be a vendor,\nclient, or other non-employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Make sure you have told the party harassing\nyou to stop. If that doesn’t help, seek a supervisor and ask for help. Report\nthe incident and see how the supervisor responds. If the supervisor you tell does\nnot take corrective action, go to HR as soon as possible and file a harassment\nreport. Laws require management to investigate and take action. If harassment\nis suspected, the management team should take immediate corrective action with\nthe person responsible for the negative behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You have the right to go to the U.S. Equal\nEmployment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and file a discrimination charge\nrelated to the harassment. There are time limits. Do this as quickly as\npossible. The time limits can be as little as 180 days, so you don’t want to\nhold off. The EEOC will work with you and help you better understand your\noptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Employment and harassment laws can be\ndifficult to navigate. If you’re not certain the actions from the night of the\nChristmas party count, you should ask for expert legal advice. A discussion\nwith the employment law attorneys at Shegerian Conniff doesn’t cost anything.\nOur attorneys specialize in employment and personal injury cases. We can help\nyou better understand if what you experienced counts as workplace harassment or\nnot. Call us for a free consultation. Consultations are confidential, available\n24\/7, and give you the answers you need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Office Christmas parties and similar gatherings pose an issue for employees. It’s inevitable that alcoholic beverages will be part of the festivities. That can lead to some loosening up a little too much and engaging in unexpected behaviors. One of … Continue reading