Reply to Teenage daughter being teased at summer job

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am a lawyer who works in the area of employment discrimination and what has been described would not constitute sexual harassment.  Teasing someone of the opposite gender does not rise to the level of sexual harassment.  It is obnoxious behavior that should stop -- she should first tell her co-workers to stop doing it, letting them know that she knows, and then tell her supervisor.  It is conceivable that if it persists after she complains the behavior might be defined as creating a hostile environment, but that still seems a stretch since the only thing that makes it sex-based is the fact that she is a woman but that, by itself, does not make it sexual harassment -- not in school either I might add.  [/quote]

+1 from another employment discrimination lawyer.  There's no such thing as a hostile environment unless the conduct is based on a legally protected characteristic (race, sex, religion, etc.).  Boys get made fun of for their appearance too.

Also, in peer harassment cases in schools, the fact that the perpetrators are kids who don't have the maturity one expects of adults is an important factor in determining school administrators' liability for the conduct.  It's an interesting question whether that factor would be taken into account in a work environment full of kids.

OP, the summer is almost over.  If I were you I would not encourage my daughter to lawyer up, as they say, but turn the other cheek.  They're only doing it to get a rise out of her.  Then I would speak to the pool manager at the end of the year (particularly if you are a member), with or without daughter, and constructively suggest some things they can do next summer to minimize this sort of behavior. Such as having written rules for lifeguard language and conduct backed by threat of firing, and a clear means for kids to complain when the rules are violated.[/quote]

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