To be clear, I did not say, "Yeah, go file a lawsuit." Only this: This situation may well be actionable under Title VII. 

Admittedly, Title VII would be a tough sell on the basis of a single F-bomb. But further inquiry might yield additional details helpful to a Title VII action or something similar. Race, national origin, or age? Is this employee a whistleblower? Why did this employer blow up in this situation? 

Whether a lawsuit is "worth it" is separate from actionability.

Kurt S. Schulzke, JD, CPA, CFE 
Associate Professor of Accounting & Business Law 
Director - Law, Ethics & Regulation 
Corporate Governance Center 
Kennesaw State University 
+ 1770-423-6379 (O) 
+ 1404-861-5729 (C) 
http://coles.kennesaw.edu/centers/corporate-governance/ 
My research: http://ssrn.com/author=804023 




----- Original Message -----
From: "Lee Reed" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 11:30:51 AM
Subject: Re: Workplace harassment?

How can these facts fit under Title Vll? Where is "race, sex, color, religion, or national origin"? Maybe if the manager doesn't cuss at female employees, but otherwise Title Vll doesn't apply to the husband. How about intentional infliction of mental distress, but only then,of course, if the facts shock the court as being way out of the ordinary and the husband can come up with a heart attack or other significant physical manifestations of the "ordeal." 


On Wed, Oct 31, 2012 at 11:14 AM, Herron, Daniel J. Dr. < [log in to unmask] > wrote: 


But.....given the fact pattern, is it worth it? 

Dan 

On Oct 31, 2012, at 11:09 AM, "Kurt Schulzke" < [log in to unmask] > wrote: 

> In my view (not legal advice), the conduct described could well be actionable as harassment under Title VII. See http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/practices/harassment.cfm . 
> 
> Kurt S. Schulzke, JD, CPA, CFE 
> Associate Professor of Accounting & Business Law 
> Director - Law, Ethics & Regulation 
> Corporate Governance Center 
> Kennesaw State University 
> + 1770-423-6379 (O) 
> + 1404-861-5729 (C) 
> http://coles.kennesaw.edu/centers/corporate-governance/ 
> My research: http://ssrn.com/author=804023 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Daniel Warner" < [log in to unmask] > 
> To: [log in to unmask] 
> Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 10:39:48 AM 
> Subject: Workplace harassment? 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Colleagues, 
> 
> 
> 
> I received the note below from a student. This situation doesn’t seem to be sexual harassment; it seems more that the boss here behaved like an obnoxious knucklehead. But boss being offensively impolite, even using the F word, doesn’t seem to me to be harassment. The bit about the HR person being close friends with the boss is a nice touch, but certainly typical in a small business. 
> 
> 
> 
> I don’t give any legal advice to students, certainly, but this deserves the courtesy of a reply. What recommendations would you make here? 
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you. Here’s the note: 
> 
> 
> 
> Today, my husband had an experience where his boss yelled and cussed him out with the F word in front of four other employees, without due cause. 
> 
> This obviously upset him, but he simply turned around and continued his work. He felt unsafe and, even though his boss apologized about 15 minutes later, he still feels anxiety about going back to work tomorrow. It's a small business and the HR 
> 
> manager happens to be very close friends with his boss. The situation is touchy and we were just wondering if this falls under harassment laws and what the best way to go about addressing the issue is. His options would be to talk to the HR 
> 
> manager or the owner of the company. Do you have any suggestions or advice? 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks again, 
> 
> 
> 
> Dan 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Daniel M. Warner 
> 
> Professor, Department of Accounting 
> 
> (Business Legal Studies) 
> 
> MS 9071 
> 
> Western Washington University 
> 
> 516 High St. 
> 
> Bellingham, WA 98225 
> 
> (360) 650-3390