s it okay to tell off-color jokes? What is unwelcome? When is conduct based on sex? Are employees allowed to flirt on the job? What happens when someone gets offended? Who decides what is appropriate? Should employees be required to tolerate some behavior but not another? Today, courts will more likely find an illegal hostile environment present when the workplace includes sexual propositions, pornography, extremely vulgar language, sexual touching, degrading comments, or embarrassing questions or jokes. There are many examples of court cases which back this up.“(1) In Hall v. Gus Construction Co., a construction company had hired three woman to work at road construction sites. Male co-workers continually subjected these women to verbal sexual abuse. One woman even developed a skin reaction to the sun which the men immediately labeled “Herpes.” The women often found obscenities written in the dust on their co-worker. Male co-workers continuously asked the women for sexual favors. IN addition to the verbal abuse, the women were constantly subjected to offensive and unwelcome physical contact. On one occasion, the men help up one of the female employees so that the driver of a truck could touch her. The men subjected all three women to other types of abuse including “mooning” them, showing them pornographic pictures, and urinating in their water bottles and automobile gas tanks. The company’s supervisor was well aware of all of these activities. The court found this conduct violated Title Vii because it was unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, even though it did not contain “explicit sexual overtones.” (Roberts, Mann)“(2) In Robinson v. Jacksonville Shipyards, Inc., a shipyard company employed a female welder who was continually subjected to nude and partially nude pictures posted by her male co-workers. The men also referred to the victim as “baby,” R...
