Work Thanksgiving Parties: Hopefully There is more Thanks and Less “Giving”

Now that we are entering the holiday season, it is important to remember that even though an employer may host an off-site holiday party, there is a potential for employer liability for improper employee activity.  Activities at employer-sponsored Thanksgiving parties have been at the center of at least two reported court cases.  In Jordan v. Alternative Resources Corporation, 458 F.3d 332 (4th Cir. 2006), for instance, an employee brought a racial discrimination and retaliation claim as a result of some activities that occurred at an “office Thanksgiving party.”  Although the employer eventually won the suit, a vigourous dissent pointed to the fact that the employee was retaliated against at the party for having reported an inappropriate racially insensitive remark that had occurred some weeks before the party.  Also, in U.S. v. Rogers, 50 M.J. 805 (USAF Crim App. 1999), a lieutenant colonel was convicted of “disorderly conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces” for having fraternized and engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a lieutenant who got drunk at an off-site Thanskgiving party.

Although most employees will certainly behave appropriately, it bears noting that employers should be careful to assure that holiday parties do not foster or exacerbate any inappropriate or illegal conduct.