I’ll give you an example of this. Back in 1992, my ex-wife and I worked for the same company in different capacities. She worked in the “Disbursement Office” which was know as the cash cage. She was sent home one day because her blouse was “cut too low.” I managed the evening shift in the front line of the store and, that very same night, worked with a woman who was wearing a tight v-neck spandex shirt with the lace from her bra poking out of the top. I commented to her that my wife was wearing something a bit too revealing earlier that day and was sent home, so she might want to think about what she’s wearing in the future.

The next day, I was called into the main office to talk to my HR rep. Apparently, she filed a sexual harrassment complaint against me for “making comments about her tits.” I explained that I never used the word tits. I went on to explain that that my wife had been sent home for wearing a blouse that was a bit to revealing, even though there was nothing in the company dress code preventing it aside from some vague text about “appropriate attire”, and that I was simply trying to save the other lady some time and trouble.

The response I got was a bit troubling and cost me my job. The HR rep said, “You know very well what you were doing when you commented on her shirt. I’m suspending you for a week and I’m going to schedule you for sensitvity training.” After returning from my week of suspension and an eight hour session of sensitivity training, I was put on the floor. Word had gotten around to the other women that I worked with that I was a pervert and they avoided me like the plague. About two weeks later, I was “let go” because the “situation was untenable.” I appealed to no avail.

Now, I have to worry that just the inclination of offense because there was a chip in a fellow employee’s beer mug given as a gift at the annual picnic is justification for termination and lawsuits?

Can I work from home?