The California Supreme Court has ruled 7-0 that sexually coarse and vulgar language used in meetings by writers developing scripts for the hit television sitcom “Friends” didn’t create a hostile work environment for a writers’ assistant on the show. According to the court, most of the objectionable language and conduct wasn’t aimed at the assistant, Amaani Lyle, or at other women in the workplace, but rather was part of the creative process of generating scripts for the adult-oriented television show.
Lyle filed the sexual harassment lawsuit in 2000, charging that the writers’ room was a pit of crude talk and behavior that created a hostile work environment for her, thus violating the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The male writers, she claimed, engaged in frequent sexually explicit and vulgar discussions, which included graphic conversations about the actors’ and writers’ own sex lives, among many other things.
In concluding that Lyle wasn’t the victim of sexual harassment, the justices pointed out that Lyle received a prehire warning that the show dealt with sexual matters and that, as an assistant to the writers, she would have to listen to the sexual jokes and discussions as she transcribed the jokes and dialogue likely to be used in scripts. What’s more, none of the writers ever said anything sexually offensive about or directed comments to Lyle or any other female employee, asked her out on a date, sexually propositioned her, or demanded sexual favors.
Despite its ruling, the high court stated: “[w]e do not suggest the use of sexually coarse and vulgar language in the workplace can never constitute harassment because of sex; indeed, language similar to that at issue here might well establish harassment depending on the circumstances. Nor do we imply that employees generally should be free, without employer restriction, to engage in sexually coarse and vulgar language or conduct at the workplace. We simply recognize that, like Title VII, the FEHA is ‘not a “civility code” and [is] not designed to rid the workplace of vulgarity.'”
We’ll have full details on this ruling in an upcoming issue of the California Employer Advisor.
Additional Resources:
The Step-by-Step Sexual Harassment Prevention Guide for California Employers, a California Employer Advisor Special Report