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A Word to the Wise

By Alfred G. Feliu

Few would argue with the proposition that today's employers generally take claims of discrimination and harassment in the workplace far more seriously than was the case a generation ago, or even just a few years ago. The lessons of equal employment opportunity are being learned on a daily basis, and the workplace is the better for it.

Courts have repeatedly acknowledged that Title VII was not intended to serve as an arbiter of good taste. For example, Justice Scalia, on behalf of a unanimous court in Oncale v.Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., 523 U.S. 75, 80 (1998), rejected the notion that Title VII imposed a 'general civility code for the American workplace.' Yet on occasion employers will severely punish, even terminate, employees accused of inappropriate behavior that is more boorish than illegal. Have employers become too sensitive to the issue, meting out punishment in disproportionate doses in EEO cases? If so, is this an over-reaction by a liability-sensitive employer community or prudent human resources policy, or something else? The recent case of Strycharz v. Verizon, 2002 WL 31856820 (S.D.N.Y. 12/19/02) (Lynch, D.J.), is instructive in this regard.

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