Does cussing create a “hostile work environment”?
You kiss your mother with that mouth? Evil HR Lady has an entertaining discussion about a nasty e-mail she received from a “cusser” who didn’t like the fact that she had expressed opposition to cussing at work. (Not all cussing — just the “every other word out of your mouth” variety.) Anyway, the e-mail contained — you guessed it — cussing just about every other word. To provide the flavor of the e-mail without being too explicit, HR Lady replaced the actual obscenities with “squid lips.” The result was funny and made the e-mailer look pretty foolish. All of which raises the question — does garden-variety cursing, not directed at an individual, create a hostile work environment? Some of Evil HR Lady’s commenters thought so, but I beg to differ. There are hostile work environments, and then there are “hostile work environments” — the type that create employer liability for workplace harassment. Excessive cussing can certainly create the first type of hostile environment, in the sen
