The Law: 5 inappropriate things you may be doing at work

When we think about inappropriate behavior at work, we often picture obvious things — loud arguments, blatant disrespect, major policy violations. But sometimes, without even knowing it, people say things to co-workers that could be considered insensitive or discriminatory, and may expose their employer to employment lawsuits. Below are five topics that you or your co-workers might be discussing that you should avoid. And, if you are the manager, it is your responsibility to address these behaviors and take steps to stop them from recurring.

1. Making generalized statements about an ethnic group or race.

The phrase "you people" is never a good idea. Such stereotypes are often related to protected classes. For example, not all older employees are incapable of keeping up with modern day trends in computers and technology. Such comments make it appear that you are classifying an employee in a given group with a set of predefined traits. Even if those traits are positive (i.e. "you guys are such hard workers"), such stereotyping could lead to a problem.

2. Asking someone when they plan to retire.

This can be construed to mean that you think your coworker or employee is becoming too old to work. Age discrimination can be as subtle as referring to someone as "past their prime" or "over the hill," or repeating the old maxim that "you can't teach an old dog new tricks.” In the appropriate setting, a manager can (and should) discuss with someone their timeline for retirement for succession planning purposes. But otherwise, it is best to avoid making assumptions about a person’s age.

3. Stereotyping.

An employee may be inclined to casually describe a whiny customer as "acting like a little girl," or an aggressive co-worker as a “tough guy,” but these words carry a stereotypical connotation that could lead your co-workers to believe you think that only women are capable of being rude or whiny or only men are capable of being tough.

Additionally, certain characteristics can be interpreted differently for men and women, such as how an assertive man can be seen as "a leader," while an assertive woman is thought to be "bossy." Remove these stereotypes from your repertoire, if you have not done so already. (And in any event, the appropriate way to address a colleague’s “aggressive” or “whiny” behavior is focusing on how the behavior impacts the work environment and other employees.)

4. Asking people about their religious beliefs.

While it is fine to talk about your religious beliefs, it should be done in a manner that is not intimidating, interferes with employment duties, or creates a situation where a manager is abusing his or her authority. Repeated comments about someone’s religion — pro or con — can also be considered harassment, which can become a legal problem since religious discrimination is forbidden by both Iowa and federal law.

5. Speculating about someone else’s sex life.

Some things are private, and your own and others’ sex lives is one of those topics. As the $2.2 million verdict in Polk County, Iowa, several years ago involving a former female Iowa Senate Republican caucus staffer revealed, such unwelcomed and repeated comments could constitute sexual harassment and result in litigation and damages/attorneys fee exposure if an employer does not promptly stop such behavior. In that case, testimony revealed that one of the plaintiff’s coworker allegedly teased women in the office about their sex lives and called his co-workers “prudes” if they didn’t respond to his taunts. The plaintiff testified that she reported the comments to her supervisors, but they apparently failed to investigate them, despite their promises to clean up the work environment.

Accordingly, make it crystal clear your organization will not tolerate such conduct and will act upon it. And if reported, do what you said you would do (and what the law requires you to do): remedy it.

Wilford H. Stone is a lawyer with Lynch Dallas in Cedar Rapids. Comments: (319) 365-9101; wstone@lynchdallas.com.