No one said supposed adults are always going to act like adults. But here’s how a potty training book and some diarrhea jokes almost got one company in serious legal trouble.
An employee suffering from MS had a few unfortunate “bowel accidents” at work due to his condition. So what did his mature, empathetic co-workers do? They left a child’s potty training book at his desk and started calling him names like “Poopy” and “The S***meister.”
The man sued, claiming he was subjected to a hostile work environment because of his disability.
But the company won the case. Why? The employee never complained to HR or a supervisor about the conduct. Therefore, the company had no obligation to do anything.
As other cases have shown, even immature jokes can turn into harassment or discrimination suits, which is why companies need to take employee complaints seriously. But the kicker: The employee has to complain first. Courts don’t expect companies to deal with discriminatory conduct they don’t know about.
Cite: Murphy v. BeavEx, Inc.
