That One Text Can Be Costly To A California Employer

Defending employment claims in California is costly even when an employer does everything right.

Most cases boil down to a small number of issues that the parties disagree upon and oftentimes come down to electronic evidence in the form of a text that ends the case, such as a homophobic slur about the plaintiff employee.

Significantly, text, instant messages, Slack, and emails have been the bane of an employer’s existence as it just takes one improper communication to blow up what appeared to be a clean defense.

The moment you contact Sherman Law Corporation, our experienced litigators immediately guide you on compliance with your legal obligations in these types of situations.

How To Avoid Messaging Problems for California Employers

The Sherman Law Corporation cannot emphasize enough the importance of:

not impulsively responding in a manner that will be misunderstood by the recipient, and
not joking with anyone at the workplace on any subject matter that is inappropriate or has any relation to a protected characteristic such as race, national origin, sex/gender/sexual orientation, age, medical condition/disability, etc.

Gone are the days of the stray remark doctrine that excused employers from the occasional stray remark. In the wake of the “Me Too” movement and expansion of protected characteristics in California, nothing is off the table in employment cases where employers are required to produce communications between employees – even after hours and on weekends.

What Can Employers Do To Minimize Liability?

Here are some things for California employers to keep in mind:

Provide training by the Sherman Law Corporation on the repercussions of inappropriate communications so that employees understand the individual liability that lies for what may be deemed unlawful harassment;
Institute policies on proper communications via electronic methods and improper communications that will not be tolerated; and
Impose disciplinary action, up to and including termination, when inappropriate behavior is discovered.