Unfortunately for the employer, the court gave Kurschinske the green light to bring her case before a jury. The jury will be using a “reasonable person” test to measure whether these factors (among others) suggest a reasonable person would be offended by working in an environment in which employees were: passing gas (making Kurschinske the target), grabbing her buttocks, simulating sex acts and asking for nude pictures of Kurschinske’s daughter.

Hmm ... wonder what jury wouldn’t find all that workplace conduct “unreasonable,” let alone outrageous!

One more likely nail for the employer’s coffin: Kurschinske said she was told by a supervisor to “quit complaining” about the porn, or else Kurschinske would be the one “shown the door.”

Lessons Learned… Without Having To Go To Court

• A staff meeting is not the same as harassment-prevention training. The court stressed that this company (and any company) can turn to a simple get-out-of-jail free card in such cases: act quickly and “effectively” enough to stop the cause of the employee’s harassment complaint. But in this case, the employer held a staff meeting and basically told employees to “knock off” the porn. That meeting and message simply wasn’t effective.
  
  
• Know what counts as “effective” action? The answer: harassment prevention training for all members of management (especially team leaders) and making sure they understand their obligations to take prompt, effective action in response to all complaints of offensive conduct.
  
  
• Don’t forget to train all employees. Harassment prevention training should be conducted for all employees to make sure they understand prohibited conduct in the workplace and consequences for violating policies. • Discipline with teeth. Make sure the consequences have an impact to stop the bad behavior.
  
  
• Prohibit porn and monitor for it. Actively filter porn from the workplace—both in-house and online.