“Locker Room Talk” in the Workplace

At a recent training session, a male employee asked me the following question: "If a bunch of guys are working together and we want to tell dirty jokes, what is the harm if no females are around?" My response was that this type of talk is not appropriate for the workplace, regardless of who is around to hear it. Employees are free to tell all the jokes they want to when they are outside of work, but when they are at work, they need to follow company policies, including the policy against harassment in the workplace. Harsh? Maybe; but my job is to protect this company from sexual harassment claims.

The reality is that a company that is subject to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (generally, a company with 15 or more employees) has a duty to prevent and address sexual harassment in the workplace. That means a company should have a clear, well-disseminated written policy against harassment in the workplace and a user-friendly procedure that employees can utilize to report possible harassment. When a company receives a complaint of possible harassment, it has a duty to investigate that complaint and take prompt, effective remedial action, if necessary. The worst response to a complaint of possible harassment is to ignore it or simply dismiss it as "just locker room talk."

Workplace harassment may take many forms. It may be, but is not limited to, words, signs, offensive jokes, cartoons, slurs, pictures, posters, email jokes or statements, pranks, intimidation, physical assaults, physical contact or violence. Harassment refers to any action or conduct that creates an intimidating, offensive, or hostile environment or that interferes with work performance. Conversations that include vulgar descriptions of sexual organs could be considered harassment, if they are severe (extremely offensive) or pervasive. The repetition of those types of comments in the workplace means that they are more likely to rise to the level of harassment because they are pervasive. If these comments are made by members of management, the consequences to the company can be even more severe.

Practice Tip: A company should train its managers and supervisors--at least annually--on how to recognize, avoid, and address possible sexual harassment in the workplace. The best way for a company to avoid costly sexual harassment litigation (or minimize its liability should litigation be filed) is maintain a strong culture that harassment in the workplace will not be tolerated.