The Employer Handbook

You’ve heard the expression “loose lips sink ships.”

Well, the opposite holds true when an employee complains to a supervisor about workplace discrimination. Continue reading

Ten of your employees, including two supervisors, plan and attend an “unofficial” happy hour after work at a local bar. It’s unofficial because the company does not sponsor it, none of the employees are paid for their time, and no business is discussed.

Now, let’s assume that this hour is anything but happy for one of your employees. She’s getting skeeved out by a co-worker who is making all sorts of inappropriate comments to her, including questions about where she was going after the happy hour, and if she was going home to her husband. One of the supervisors notices the employee’s discomfort and helps her “escape” to her car to drive home.

Could ignoring this out-of-the-office behavior expose the company to a viable hostile work environment claim?

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