Bette Robin, DDS, JD 877 DrRobin
SELECT PRACTICE SERVICES, INC. / DENTAL PRACTICE SALES
SELECT PRACTICE SERVICES, INC. / DENTAL PRACTICE SALES
MAYBE IT’S TIME TO MOVE . . .
Every time I write a column on the perils of sex in the office and the
potential of an expensive sexual harassment verdict against you that is
not covered by any of your insurance policies, I receive lots of phone
calls. No other subject seems to stir up such irritation and discontent in
Society members. Comments include: “Why, then, bother to own an
office?”; “Are you happy now? I fired all the ones I’ve ***!”; “She’s the
one who wanted it and I have to pay!” As your ever vigilant attorney, I
have been looking long and hard for a solution for you, and have finally
found one that might even be palatable. MOVE TO WISCONSIN!
Face it, there are many reasons to leave California. The enormous
amount of liability we incur just setting foot in our offices just does not
exist in other states. There are laws that require employees to be paid
for every moment they breathe and now the State Board who is now
telling us the exact classes that must be taken to renew our licenses.
And this is not even mentioning air pollution, gangs, and crime that we
suffer on a daily basis by living in California.
But the best and most convincing reason may be that in Wisconsin you
can run your business the way some of you think it ought to be run. And
at least one employment law judge recognizes that right. In Lauer v.
Kentucky Fried Chicken, June Lauer tried to collect unemployment
benefits after she quit her job of 13 years working for the fast-food
chicken chain. Although June’s claims were apparently easily proved, it
was to no avail and her claim for benefits was denied. June claimed
that the managers were requiring that she obtain a tattoo on her breast
- a Colonel Sanders tattoo - to continue employment in the restaurant.
(The case doesn’t say where, how, or to whom she had to prove the
existence of this tattoo.) Further, June said that the managers referred
daily to the women workers as “bitches”, made frequent references to
“oral sex and genitalia”, and asked workers whether they were “on the
rag” when anyone complained.
In a written opinion on the case, unemployment law judge Charles
Schaefer wrote that the “use of vulgar and obscene language and terms
can serve to promote group solidarity. To the extent that it was intended
to promote this end, it would have been an effort to achieve a legitimate
business goal.” Even though the judge did concede that that language
was not very professional, he wrote that it was “essentially locker room
talk” and thus was no big deal.
When asked in an interview about this written decision, Judge Schaefer
staunchly defended his ruling. The Judge said, “Isn’t that true? Haven’t
you seen that kind of locker-room talk bolster morale? I have seen that it
has that effect or that it is intended to promote that effect.” The Judge
also noted that June did not deserve unemployment benefits because
she quit without complaining to her managers. How could the managers
possibly know such talk offended her?
While I’m still pondering whether a mandatory tattoo constitutes quid
pro quo sexual harassment, maybe you should start packing. Or, better
yet, send your contributions now to Tri-County to support the ‘Move to
California Fund for Judge Schaefer!’ Actually, I think he has a few
friends-in-kind in our local judicial system, but those guys are just afraid
to speak their mind...
© Bette Robin, DDS, JD 11/97
potential of an expensive sexual harassment verdict against you that is
not covered by any of your insurance policies, I receive lots of phone
calls. No other subject seems to stir up such irritation and discontent in
Society members. Comments include: “Why, then, bother to own an
office?”; “Are you happy now? I fired all the ones I’ve ***!”; “She’s the
one who wanted it and I have to pay!” As your ever vigilant attorney, I
have been looking long and hard for a solution for you, and have finally
found one that might even be palatable. MOVE TO WISCONSIN!
Face it, there are many reasons to leave California. The enormous
amount of liability we incur just setting foot in our offices just does not
exist in other states. There are laws that require employees to be paid
for every moment they breathe and now the State Board who is now
telling us the exact classes that must be taken to renew our licenses.
And this is not even mentioning air pollution, gangs, and crime that we
suffer on a daily basis by living in California.
But the best and most convincing reason may be that in Wisconsin you
can run your business the way some of you think it ought to be run. And
at least one employment law judge recognizes that right. In Lauer v.
Kentucky Fried Chicken, June Lauer tried to collect unemployment
benefits after she quit her job of 13 years working for the fast-food
chicken chain. Although June’s claims were apparently easily proved, it
was to no avail and her claim for benefits was denied. June claimed
that the managers were requiring that she obtain a tattoo on her breast
- a Colonel Sanders tattoo - to continue employment in the restaurant.
(The case doesn’t say where, how, or to whom she had to prove the
existence of this tattoo.) Further, June said that the managers referred
daily to the women workers as “bitches”, made frequent references to
“oral sex and genitalia”, and asked workers whether they were “on the
rag” when anyone complained.
In a written opinion on the case, unemployment law judge Charles
Schaefer wrote that the “use of vulgar and obscene language and terms
can serve to promote group solidarity. To the extent that it was intended
to promote this end, it would have been an effort to achieve a legitimate
business goal.” Even though the judge did concede that that language
was not very professional, he wrote that it was “essentially locker room
talk” and thus was no big deal.
When asked in an interview about this written decision, Judge Schaefer
staunchly defended his ruling. The Judge said, “Isn’t that true? Haven’t
you seen that kind of locker-room talk bolster morale? I have seen that it
has that effect or that it is intended to promote that effect.” The Judge
also noted that June did not deserve unemployment benefits because
she quit without complaining to her managers. How could the managers
possibly know such talk offended her?
While I’m still pondering whether a mandatory tattoo constitutes quid
pro quo sexual harassment, maybe you should start packing. Or, better
yet, send your contributions now to Tri-County to support the ‘Move to
California Fund for Judge Schaefer!’ Actually, I think he has a few
friends-in-kind in our local judicial system, but those guys are just afraid
to speak their mind...
© Bette Robin, DDS, JD 11/97
DrRobin@BetteRobin.com
17482 Irvine Blvd., Suite E
Tustin, CA 92780
Tustin, CA 92780
Tele:
877 DrRobin
714.421.4407
Fax:
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DrRobin@BetteRobin.com
17482 Irvine Blvd., Suite E
Tustin, CA 92780
Tustin, CA 92780
877 DrRobin
Tele:
714.421.4407
Fax:
714.398.8808