News Notes: Employee Can Sue Despite Pre-Hire Warning About Co-workers’ Harassing Behavior

Warning a new employee that coworkers might behave offensively won’t get you off the hook for being sued for harassment. When Larhonda Williams interviewed for a receptionist position with Snyder Roofing and Sheet Metal, the company told her she would be exposed to coarse language on the job, and she said she could handle it. But Williams eventually quit and sued for sexual harassment alleging, among other things, that a coworker had brought a large Styrofoam genital organ to work, there was a wall calendar at the worksite with nude women, and she had been the target of sexual jokes. The court rejected Snyder Roofing’s argument that Williams waived her right to sue because she had accepted the job knowing about the offensive work environment.