"Textual harassment" is nothing to LOL about, warn employment lawyers.
Attorneys say that text messaging in the workplace is turning into a growing liability for employers, which are landing in court over inappropriate and offensive texts that are popping up on employees' cell phones.
Perhaps the biggest culprits, they note, are male bosses who are sending scandalous text messages to female employees, asking them out on dates or promising promotions in exchange for sexual favors. These texts are explosive evidence in lawsuits, they said, and pretty tough to dispute.
"We're actually seeing it happening ... lawsuits are being filed, where an employee will testify that one of the means that they were harassed by someone was through text messages," said Clint Robison of the Los Angeles office of Chicago's Hinshaw & Culbertson, who is handling several textual harassment lawsuits on behalf of employers. "[Text messages] come up in pure harassment claims and wrongful termination lawsuits, where employees are being deposed and saying, 'Well, I can prove [harassment] because the dinner date invitation from by boss was sent to me by my boss late at night.'"
Robison is currently handling four lawsuits in which employees are suing their employers over inappropriate texting at work. Two cases involve female workers who allege their supervisors harassed them by sending them inappropriate text messages, hinting at promotions in exchange for sexual favors. Another involves co-workers creating a hostile work environment by exchanging messages back and forth that another employee found offensive.
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Source: law.com
By: Tresa Baldas
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