Is this harassment or any thing that can get me fired?
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Is this harassment or any thing that can get me fired?
We were having an after hour non company sponsored happy hour get together with co-workers. We were sitting in one of those side walks which is barricaded off for restaurant customers to sit outside. I had stepped away to use the restroom and as I was returning back to my seat, another female co-worker, probably in her mid to late 40’s or even early 50’s was standing next to the only opening to the outside seating area talking to someone. She saw me and said hi, we say,
Asked on October 16, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Maryland
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
There are two different questions here:
1) What constitutes harassment? This is what the main federal government agency (EEOC) reponsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws says: "Harassment can include “sexual harassment” or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. Harassment does not have to be of a sexual nature, however, and can include offensive remarks about a person’s sex. For example, it is illegal to harass a woman by making offensive comments about women in general."
Your conduct does not appear to be harassment.
2) What conduct can get you fired? Unfortunately, you can be fired for ANY conduct unless you have a written employment contract preventing your termination for that reason. In the absence of a written contract, all employment is "employment at will," which means you can be terminated at any time, for any reason whatsoever.
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