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Hostile Work Environment in Iowa

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A male manager at our Iowa based plant made a sexually inappropriate remark to a female employee in front of other employees during a meeting.  The manager was demoted and transferred for the incident.  What is our risk of this incident being the basis for calling the plant a hostile work environment in a sexual harassment suit?

There may be.  When it comes to forcing employees to participate in certain company activities or agree to certain policies, the company might be violating the personal rights of each of the employees.

For example, there is a case in 2004 involving AT&T in which an employee refused to sign a statement that stated that the employee valued and respected different sexual orientations. The employee refused to sign the statement based on his religious beliefs. Because he failed to sign the statement and, in doing so, failed to claim that he respected persons of different sexual orientations, AT&T fired the employee and he then filed suit.  He was awarded more than $140,000 in the case.

The facts in that particular case were very specific in terms of religious beliefs and a company policy, therefore, they may not apply to what you are going through.  Your employer has to balance the rights of all the employees. Those include your right to your religious beliefs.  Those rights also include the rights of other employees to live a lifestyle you don\\\’t agree with and not have that cause problems for them at work.

This is one of those situations where you really need to talk to an attorney who specializes in employment law.  An attorney can tell you how strong a case you would have for a religious discrimination claim.  The stakes are too high for you to try doing this on your own.  What you are describing sounds like your career is in the balance. 

The best answer for everyone involved may not be to pursue a lawsuit.  They can get messy and expensive for all parties involved, especially your company. However, you might not have an option as far as defending your company is concerned.

What you are looking for is to somehow work things out with your company where your beliefs will be respected as well as those of other employees.