MFD - Harassment & Hostile Work Environment

1. AVOIDING THE
SLIPPERY SLOPE:
Building an Inclusive and
Welcoming Workplace
Presented by:
Douglas E. Duckett, Esq.
Duckett Law Firm, LLC
www.duckettlawfirm.com

2. Goals for the Day
 To go beyond the minimum required to
ensure a workplace free of sexual
harassment or unlawful discrimination.
 To avoid slippery slopes where
employee conduct may seem “funny” or
fine but can harm and damage careers.
 To create an atmosphere at work that is
productive, and fun—but that remains
appropriate and professional.

3. Goals for the Day (cont.)
 To help you stay on the safe side of
the lines when it comes to comments
and use of humor at work.
 To enforce what you have a right to
expect in terms of how people treat
you at work.
 To answer your questions.

4. You Know the Basics—We Can’t
Have A Discriminatory Workplace
 Harassment based on sex, race,
religion, etc. is illegal.
 It can end careers, cost the City, and
cost you your job.
 That can take many forms—obvious
and overt, and less obvious as well.

5. Sexual Harassment
 It can take two basic forms:
– Quid pro quo—demand for sexual favors.
– Hostile and abusive working environment.
 And from whose perspective is that
determined? Is “intent” required?

6. And because harassment
is a form of discrimination
 It applies just as much to
discriminatory or hostile comments
based on any other characteristic
covered by law or City policy, such as
race, religion, age, national origin,
disability.
 Remember that “hostile” can wear a
smile—it can come in the form of
humor, jokes, and stories.

7. You know all this.
So what is today about?
 The City of Montgomery wants more than the
avoidance of the obviously illegal.
 The City wants a workplace where:
– People are encouraged, not hurt, by others who use
them as the target of “humor.”
– A place where it is fun to work but also productive
and professional.
– A place where everyone can be proud to work, not
cringing with embarrassment.
– People don’t lose their jobs or cause others to leave
by saying stupid stuff.

8. Where and how does the
slope get slippery?
 If a male supervisor and a male
employee are telling a sexual joke about
women where no members of the public
can hear it?
 A “blond joke” initiated by a female
officer worker in a conversation with
other workers in the office?
 Some women in the office joking about
the new police officer’s “cute butt”?

9. Some key principles to
remember:
 The intent of the speaker does not
control—and may not even be relevant.
 You can’t control your audience’s
reaction—and you don’t get to say what
is and isn’t funny.
 Sometimes you don’t know who your
audience even is.
 Remember how little you may know
about your listener.

10. What do you do when you
say something stupid?
 You’ve probably done it—we all
have. Or you have had it happen
to you.
 What has worked?
 What has not been helpful?

11. What to do, what not to
do at those moments
 Own it. You said it. The fact that
someone heard it is not the problem.
 Apologize immediately for what you
said—not that the person heard it.
 Take total responsibility—don’t explain
or defend or rationalize.
 Do whatever you can to make it right.
 Learn from it—and don’t do it again.

12. Scenario # 1
 An employee in your department is talking
about having struck a really good deal on a
used car he bought for his daughter.
 “I was really able to Jew-down that
salesman at the car lot and got a great
price!”
 Just the two of you heard the remark,
you’re not Jewish, and you have no reason
to think this person has anti-Jewish biases.
 Is there a problem?

13. Scenario # 2
 You overhear three young employees
talking about something they saw on
You Tube when someone really made
a fool of himself.
 “Dude, that is so gay! I can’t believe
he did that!”
 To your knowledge, none of the three
is gay, and neither are you.
 Is this a problem?

14. What is the line between “being
PC” and the slippery slope?
 Sometimes people say that policing
sexual, racial, or ethnic humor is being
“politically correct.”
 We get from prior training that we
can’t make hostile comments about
people’s sex lives, race, religion, or
sexual orientation.
 So where is that line? What is the
trouble zone?

15. Scenario # 3: Two employees
discuss a new hire
 “I hear the new public works employee
is an Indian.”
 “Dot or feather?”
 “What do you mean?”
 “American Indian or from India?”
 Both employees laugh at the joke.
 New hire was not there to hear it.
 Difference if the public heard or not?

16. Be aware of how the “new,
different” employee is treated
 Well-meaning employees have a
tendency to “exoticize” those employees
whose background is new to them.
 Try to focus on commonalities instead of
the differences.
 Don’t put employees in a position of
being “spokespeople” for a group.
 We’re not asking people to walk on
eggshells. Just treat people the same.

17. Why not follow the rule of
“no harm, no foul”?
 Employees bristle at consequences for
“private” jokes and conversations.
 But work is work and play is play. The
central problem is forgetting boundaries.
 If you’re on work time in a work location,
your conversations are not “private” in that
sense and can create consequences.
 As we noted earlier, you can’t control your
audience’s reaction—or even who they are.

18. Scenario # 4: How do you
handle someone sliding down
that slope?
 You walk up to some employees talking
and laughing at work.
 Someone says to you, “Oh, you’ll love
this one,” and proceeds to start with a
sexual joke that is admittedly funny to
you—in another context.
 What’s the best way for you to respond
to that at that moment?

19. Your own behavior
matters most of all
 Not every move into slippery-slope
territory is necessarily a major disciplinary
problem.
 But silence = acceptance and is never the
right answer to wrong conduct.
 Your own conduct matters most of all.
Every employee of the City of
Montgomery must take responsibility for
building an inclusive, welcoming
workplace.