A few employees are on down time. Talking about a certain country media star and some of his "sayings". One employee tells group he has on boxers with those "sayings" and proceeds to lower waist of jeans and pull boxers up to show them. He is later called in for creating a hostile environment. Was this action indeed a sexual harrassment? What made it so and how should he have known at the time it was offensive? No work was lost, everyone was fine at the time but later someone had turned him in. Would it be considered severe enough to be sexual harrassment?

State of Indiana

Someone more versed in SH will answer this, but I can say that was really dumb of him. :rolleyes:

how should he have known at the time it was offensive?

I would have thought his mother or elementary school teachers would have told him that he shouldn't show his underwear in public.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibts sexual harassment in the work place. There are two main types of sexual harassment. The one you describe falls under hostile working environment. Under that theory, illegal sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that is so severe or pervasive as to alter the conditions of employment and create an abusive working environment.

I doubt that showing his underwear under the circumstances you describe rises to the level of illegal sexual harassment. The act doesn't seem sexual in nature. However, you didn't indicate what the "sayings" on his boxers were.

I don't think the incident was illegal sexual harassment, just stupid.

And even if it isn't sexual harrassment, it's certainly inappropriate and he could be fired for that reason alone, if the employer so chooses.

I agree; this was not sexual harassment but it was exceedingly inappropriate and I would have fired him on the spot.

Thank you so much for all the input. Yes, it was a stupid thing to do. It seems to be of the much lesser offenses committed in factory settings however! People were questioned. Three that went to HR told 3 different stories so may be case of "setting someone up". Because the stories conflicted and others were questioned about all those involved, the situation was dismissed without validation of it being sexual harrassment or a hostile work environment. Thank you again for your input, I was curious as to how this would turn out.