Tricks (Not Treats) Await Employers On Halloween

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Most people look forward to holidays. But for employment law attorneys, the two days I scratch my head over are Valentine's Day and Halloween.

United States Employment and HR

Most people look forward to holidays. But for employment law attorneys, the two days I scratch my head over are Valentine's Day and Halloween.

Of course, I can't say these aren't real "holidays" because nearly everyone celebrates them even if they aren't days off.

But as I've highlighted on this blog before, these holidays do have a tendency to create some buzz — and not the good kind. In a 2020 post, I noted:

For instance, there was that time when an employee made comments about a co-worker "taking a girlfriend dressed as a 747 to a Halloween party and bringing her in for a landing" when the co-worker was gay and had no girlfriend. Harassment? (Hansen v. Skywest Airlines)

Or the time when a female employee was dressed as a Barbie doll for Halloween that a male co-worker asked her if she was going to be a trick or a treat. Harassment? (Williams v. Innovate Loan Servicing Corp.)

Then there's the story of a complaint regarding a gay employee and a co-worker who were seen "jumping naked together" in a trampoline in that employee's yard after the co-worker brought his children over to trick-or-treat on Halloween night. Hostile work environment? (Mowery v. Escambia County Utilities Authority)

Or, these actual quotes lifted from harassment cases as evidence, that I cited back in 2017:

"Let's engage in a Halloween-type party where everybody would be having sex." and "So, are you going to wear a bikini for your Halloween costume?"

Or a 2008 post (yes, this blog as old as a high school senior), where I talked about the perils of someone dressing as a "naughty nurse".

With offices returning to normalcy this year (or at least a new version of it), no doubt a few people will decide that dressing up or engaging in shenanigans is a good idea. And when that crosses the line into creating a hostile work environment, lawsuits happen.

So for employers, keep a close watch on what is going on in your office on Halloween. Hopefully, it'll be more treats, than tricks, though history has shown us the dark side too.

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