News & Analysis as of

Offensive Language

Allen Matkins

"The Secretary Of State Has No Issue With Bimbo" - Should She?

Allen Matkins on

A dozen years ago, I posed the question of whether it might be possible to incorporate under a crass, indecent or otherwise offensive name.   That post mentioned the Court of Appeal's holding in Lee v. Superior Court, 9...more

Proskauer - Minding Your Business

Are Eminem and Too $hort Too Offensive for the Workplace?

There is a time and place for everything, or so they say. Eminem and Too $hort are both somewhat polarizing artists. From songs such as Eminem’s “Cleaning Out My Closet” to Too $hort’s infamous “Blow The Whistle”, some of...more

Ius Laboris

Can you be fired for sending private messages about colleagues?

Ius Laboris on

The German Federal Labour Court has clarified the rules on when an employee who makes offensive comments about colleagues in a private chat can be dismissed. According to a recent decision of the German Federal Labour...more

Genova Burns LLC

You Can Say What?! New Jersey District Court Rejects Claims of Hostile Work Environment

Genova Burns LLC on

On July 29, 2023, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in Tavares v. Builders FirstSource Northeast Group, Inc., granted Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment most notably finding that racist and...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Third Circuit Revives Harassment Claim Involving Harassment by Psychiatric Center Patient

When defining what conduct constitutes a hostile and offensive working environment under Title VII, the U.S. Supreme Court directs lower courts to look at the context of the behavior in the specific workplace at issue....more

FordHarrison

EntertainHR: Michigan’s Miscue—Is Your Company Ready for a Social Media Scandal?

FordHarrison on

Only a few days after being hired by the University of Michigan’s football program as the assistant director of football recruiting, Glenn Schembechler (son of longtime Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler) resigned after his...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

…But Words Will Never Harm Us? The NLRB Restores Precedent Protecting Abusive Workplace Speech by Employees While They Are Engaged...

In a decision that had been anticipated, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) abandoned its short-lived burden-shifting test for determining the legality of employer discipline of employees found to have...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

NLRB Reverses Course, Provides Broader Protection to Employees Engaged in Offensive Behavior

Amundsen Davis LLC on

On May 1, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) issued a decision, Lion Elastomers LLC, that provides employees with extensive cover for inappropriate workplace behavior under the guise of the National...more

Cozen O'Connor

NLRB Makes it Harder to Discipline Employees who Engage in Abusive Behavior

Cozen O'Connor on

In Lion Elastomers LLC, 372 NLRB No. 83 (5/1/2023)(Lion Elastomers), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) revisited the issue of what happens when an employee engages in abusive or inappropriate conduct while...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

NLRB Provides Employees Extra Leeway to Use Offensive Language

Husch Blackwell LLP on

On May 1, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued its decision in Lion Elastomers and United Steelworkers, making it more difficult for employers to discipline employees for outbursts and similar misconduct...more

Franczek P.C.

Federal Court Upholds School Board’s Enforcement of Public Comment Decorum Rules

Franczek P.C. on

The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey recently issued a decision regarding the limited First Amendment protections afforded to speakers who use offensive and disruptive speech at school board...more

FordHarrison

Kanye’s Getting Cancelled: How to Respond to Employees’ Racist Comments

FordHarrison on

Kanye West’s anti-Semitic comments on Instagram and Twitter have prompted a swift backlash by businesses formerly associated with the rap and fashion mogul. Thus far, West has been dropped by Gap, Balenciaga, Adidas, talent...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Workplace emoji DON'Ts

You DO want to be "with it," don't you? The Daily Mail came out this week with a list of workplace emoji that Generation Z says are either offensive or totally uncool. And apparently Boomers aren't the only offenders....more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Employer Discipline Lessons In DC Circ. Vulgar Protest Ruling | Insights & Events

A ruling of the National Labor Relations Board in favor of an employee fired for using vulgar language on a company bulletin board was affirmed in August by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. ...more

Proskauer - Labor Relations Update

D.C. Circuit Affirms NLRB Vulgar Graffiti Ruling

On August 9, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) had adequate justification to rule that an aluminum manufacturer (“Constellium”) violated the...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Nasty language may be protected concerted activity, court says

Non-union employers, this goes for you, too! An employee's use of bad language doesn't necessarily mean that the employer can take action against him. Even if the language arguably violates the employer's no-harassment...more

FordHarrison

Offensive Language and Physical Violence in the Workplace: Was Will Smith Justified in Hitting Chris Rock in the Face?

FordHarrison on

Television audiences for award shows have been in steep decline for years, but the 2022 Academy Awards received far more media attention after the fact than any other in modern history. This attention was all thanks to an...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Fifth Circuit Rules Age-Related Comments Must Be Specific to Defeat Summary Judgment

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a ruling concerning the discharge of Michael Harris from his position with the City of Schertz as the city marshal. In doing so, the Fifth Circuit gave a bit more clarity on...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

The Labor Law Insider | Offensive Speech in the Workplace - Part II: Drawing the Line

Husch Blackwell LLP on

In this Labor Law Insider podcast episode, Tom Godar is joined by Husch Blackwell attorney Sonni Nolan and firm alum Kat Pearlstone, as they conclude their exploration on protection of employees' speech under the National...more

Tucker Arensberg, P.C.

“Civility” Policy for Public Participation at School Board Meetings Found Unconstitutionally Vague

Marshall v. Amuso, No. 21-CV-4336 (E.D.Pa. November 17, 2021). (Federal court concludes that school board policy governing public participation at school board meetings was unconstitutionally vague and an infringement on free...more

King & Spalding

Handling Errors: Flaws in Employee Investigations Risk Impeding the Facts

King & Spalding on

One would assume if an employee were to openly use highly offensive racists slurs, unashamedly display Swastika tattoos, leave fake drugs on their desk, encourage children to physically abuse a colleague or urinate in public...more

Hodgson Russ LLP

Appeals Court Ruling Affirms First Amendment Protection for Abhorrent, Racist Language in Certain Situations

Hodgson Russ LLP on

Although some state and local governments are looking for ways to prohibit abusive, highly offensive speech that is directed toward someone, the First Amendment still protects that speech, unless it is designed to provoke a...more

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

Inclusion Killers

Lowenstein Sandler LLP on

When I graduated from law school, all I knew about the legal profession I was about to enter was that I was going to make more money than all of my immediate family members combined (yes, I come from a small family but, at...more

Proskauer - Labor Relations Update

NLRB: Employer’s Good-Faith Belief in Employee’s Misconduct Insufficient to Justify Terminating Employee Engaged in Protected...

As we have often discussed, there is a fine line between protected and unprotected activity. Profane outbursts, deliberate misconduct, or highly-disruptive strikes may fall outside the protection of the NLRA, subjecting...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Sixth Circuit Backs Termination of Public Employee for Racially Derogatory Social Media Post on 2016 Presidential Election

On October 6, 2020, in Bennett v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville, No. 19-5818, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed a district court’s decision in favor of a public employee who claimed that the city...more

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