An appeals court ruled last week that vulgar music played in the workplace can be a form of sex discrimination.
Former employees of clothing manufacturer S&S Activewear claim the company allowed its managers and other employees to play music containing “sexually graphic” and “violently misogynistic” lyrics. This fostered a hostile and abusive work environment at the company’s Reno, Nevada, facility, the lawsuit says.
Eight plaintiffs, seven women and one man, were offended by music that allegedly “denigrated women” and graphically detailed extreme violence against women. This included a song by Eminem about a pregnant woman who is stuffed in the trunk of a car and subsequently “taken overboard to drown,” according to the lawsuit.
Despite daily complaints from some employees, S&S management defended the music, describing it as motivating. The plaintiffs found the music nearly impossible to avoid, as it was blasted from commercial speakers to cover the 700,000-square-foot warehouse.
The employees alleged that the music and related conduct constituted sexual harassment and violated Title VII, which according to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, “prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.” national”.
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