After-Hours Sexting Between (and About) Co-Workers is Sexual Harassment in Business and Work

This week’s workplace sexual harassment example a.k.a news story (Source: Times Union & New York Times:

City Ballet Fires Two Male Dancers Named in Photo Sharing Scandal

New York City Ballet fired two principal male dancers Saturday morning after they were named in a lawsuit in which a woman accused a third dancer of inappropriately sharing texts of sexually explicit photographs.

The allegations were detailed earlier this month in a lawsuit filed by Ms. Waterbury, 20, who had trained for several years at the School of American Ballet, the academy affiliated with City Ballet. 

In the suit, filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, Ms. Waterbury accused Mr. Finlay of sending nude photos of her to Mr. Ramasar, and said Mr. Ramasar had sent back an image of a bare-chested “female ballet member.” The suit accused Mr. Catazaro of having exchanged images with Mr. Finlay, but did not specify of what.

Wherever 2 or more employees gather outside work in person or electronically, it’s considered an extension of the workplace. Consequently, conduct such as sexting between (and about) 2 or more co-workers is workplace sexual harassment, plain and simple. Especially since the male dancers allegedly engaging in sexting were not only exchanging sexually-explicit photos and text messages (yet another example of how employees conveniently document their own harassing behavior) with each other: they were also allegedly texting sexual comments and obscene insults about female co-workers and a female dancer-in-training to each other.

Do your executives, managers and employees understand that after-hours sexting between and/or about co-workers constitutes workplace sexual harassment in business and at work?