[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by splatbass

Yes. Sex, race, etc., are not requirements for a hostile work environment, harassment for those things is a separate issue. Do you seriously think that only minorities and women can file a complaint about a hostile work environment?

You seem to have missed the "etc...". Here's an oldie, but a goodie:

A. The Formal Definition of "Harassment"

The first place to look in determining the scope of harassment law, of course, is the legal definition of "harassment." Speech can be punished as workplace harassment if it's

"severe or pervasive" enough to

create a "hostile or abusive work environment"

based on race, religion, sex, national origin, 1 age, disability (including obesity), 2 military membership or veteran status, 3 or, in some jurisdictions, sexual orientation, marital status, 4 transsexualism or cross-dressing, 5 political affiliation, 6 criminal record, 7 prior psychiatric treatment, 8 occupation, 9 citizenship status, 10 personal appearance, 11 "matriculation," 12 tobacco use outside work, 13 Appalachian origin, 14 receipt of public assistance, 15 or dishonorable discharge from the military 16

for the plaintiff and for a reasonable person.

http://www2.law.ucla.edu/volokh/harass/breadth.htm

Here's another look from more recent times:

http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/cgi/...20pervasive%22

Things have evolved since then, but you should be able to get the point.