Michelli Rivera's article "Valentine's Day at Work - It's Best for Everyone to Leave Cupid at Home," featured in The Augusta Chronicle, discussed how to prepare for Valentine's Day in the workplace.
Valentine's Day can spell legal woes for employers with "affectionate" (and potentially sexually harassing) employees who take advantage of Valentine's Day (or the surrounding workdays) to express their unrequited and unwelcomed desires to co-workers and subordinates.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. Sexual harassment often comes in one of two scenarios. The first kind is known as "quid pro quo," and generally occurs when a supervisor seeks to exchange sexual favors from a subordinate for favorable treatment regarding the employee's terms or conditions of employment. The second scenario often is referred to as a "hostile work environment" claim. A hostile work environment claim can arise when actions such as offensive comments, pictures or actions, lewd comments, or dirty jokes make the workplace a hostile work environment for one gender.
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