Legal Debacles: Halloween Costumes
Intro: Brightly colored leaves falling from trees signal the arrival of October.
Kids dressed up in Halloween costumes signal the month’s end. But children
aren’t the only ones dressing up. Adults have fun with the holiday garb as well. Dressing up for
Halloween at work happens quite often. It can be fun or, in some cases, fraught with horror,
resulting in circumstances that are not quite what you’d expect.
CASE #1
An AM Daily Law article tells the story of a sexual harassment lawsuit, where pictures of
a plaintiff in costume at a work Halloween party later came back to haunt her.
Plaintiff Kimberly Dahms was an employee of the Defendant, Cognex Corporation, a
computer manufacturer. Dahms was hired in 1990 and by 1996, was Director of
Customer Satisfaction. Dahms befriended John J. Rogers, who joined the company in
1991. He was a CPA and held several positions over time, including Chief Financial
Officer. The two lived in the same town and sometimes carpooled to work. Although
platonic, they had a friendly relationship and sometimes saw each other socially outside
of work.
Dahms alleged that a few incidents with Rogers made her uncomfortable, but the two
give conflicting reports regarding the events. In March 1997, the two went on a business
trip to Japan. Dahms stated that at dinner one night, Rogers told her that he would have
a role in her next promotion. She further alleged that later in the evening, he tried to
push his way into her hotel room, but she did not let him in.
Between August 1998 and June 1999, Dahms filed a sexual harassment complaint with
the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and a civil suit in state court.
Rogers was fired in November 1998. Dahms was fired in June 2000. One of the
plaintiff’s allegations was that Cognex created a sexually hostile work environment.
Unfortunately for Dahms, the jury did not find her testimony that the work environment
offended her credible. Instead, she appeared to embrace it. Part of this assessment was
based on photographs of Dahms at the employee Halloween parties. One of her many
provocative costumes was described as “a see-through Empire State Building.”
Case #2 Halloween Costume as Transition
A recent article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows that sometimes, a Halloween
costume may be used by an employee to reveal their true identity. According to court
records, on Halloween Day 2006, Vandy Beth Glenn arrived at work wearing a
turtleneck sweater, knee-length skirt, boots, and tights. Glenn was sent home for
dressing inappropriately. Two other co-workers who were dressed in costume were not
sent home.
In 2005, when Glenn was hired as Legislative Editor for the Georgia General
Assembly’s Office of Legislative Counsel, the perception was that Glenn was male.
However, that same year, Glenn was diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder (GID)
and was experiencing a strong and consistent female gender identity. In July 2007,
Glenn notified her superiors that she planned to transition from male to female and
would present herself as female at work. She was fired in October 2007.
In July 2008, Glenn sued Georgia General Assembly officials in federal court based on
gender discrimination and medical condition. A federal judge recently ruled that Glenn
be reinstated to her job.
What Employers Need to Know
While most Halloween costumes at work don’t provoke such extreme reactions or
outcomes, employers still need to take note when planning Halloween celebrations for
employees.
A majority of employees may find these celebrations fun, but others may deem them
silly and a waste of time. Some employees may have religious beliefs that find the idea
of Halloween offensive and may not want to participate.
Employers may want to look back and see if there were issues in the past. Were there
any costumes that were offensive to some? Costumes that poke fun at racial, gender, or
religious stereotypes may not be seen as humorous and could result in employer liability
for discrimination, as an ICE Halloween party demonstrated.
Communicating what is acceptable in advance may help to reduce potential pitfalls.
Employers may also need to discipline any employee who crosses a line. Yet not in a
way that could be seen as discriminatory to further compound the problem.
Activity
Conduct an online search for a case in which a holiday party at work resulted in legal action
taken. Provide the facts of the case, the ruling and the lesson learned by the company involved.
Be prepared to briefly discuss with the class.