I enjoy my work as an employment lawyer for the simple fact that each case is different and “you can’t make this stuff up.”
An article in today’s The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, proves that theory correct. An interesting story today about a female town of Stamford employee who was disciplined for allegedly harassing a male supervisor, contains the sorts of details that you really can’t make up.
According to the article, the alleged harassment by the female employee included sending an e-mail with lyrics from a Barenaked Ladies song.
The story is too long to recap here, but the gist of the article can be gleaned below:
[An employee in the Human Resources Division], was suspended without pay Oct. 17 and Oct. 18 for sending inappropriate e-mails and voice mails that referenced a romantic interest in the town’s Director of Legal Affairs…who oversees her. …
City officials said [an] August e-mail, in which [the employee] makes a reference to [the supervisor] having a past life in ancient Rome, violated its sexual harassment policy and technology policy, which covers use of city computers, telephones and other electronic devices. In the message, [the employee] wrote, “I knew you before the fall of Rome” – lyrics from the song “It’s All Been Done” by Barenaked Ladies.
During the predisciplinary hearing, [the employee] said the lyrics were not meant as a threat. She chose them because they “very cleverly captured the strange psychic experience that I have, you know, mistakenly shared with city officials.”
While pictures of naked women have certain been used as the basis for harassment by male employees, I believe this is the first time “Barenaked Ladies” have been used by a female employees for alleged harassment of a male employee. There’s always a first time for everything.