'Seinfeld' joke gets man canned for harassment

[catlover79]

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/art...08230361/1001/

A Cedar Falls man who repeated a gag from the "Seinfeld" show while at work has been fired for sexual harassment.

It's the second case of an Iowan being fired for harassment stemming from an episode of the popular comedy series.

In the most recent case, John Preston and several of his co-workers at the Brain Injury Association of Iowa attended an outdoor retreat in July 2008. During the event, one of the female workers told her colleagues that whenever she or her husband sneezed, the other would respond by saying, "You are so good looking."

For the rest of the retreat, Preston and other workers adopted the routine. It was derived from an episode of "Seinfeld" in which the characters use the phrase "You are so good looking" in place of "God bless you."

According to a subsequent report by the association's executive director, Geoffrey Lauer, part of the retreat was held in an area near fields of blooming plants. "As a result, there was a somewhat higher than normal incidence of sneezing by agency staff," Lauer wrote.

A week after the retreat, Preston allegedly sent the female worker who initiated the joke a series of e-mails in which he reiterated that she was good looking.

The woman complained to her superiors, and Preston was cautioned about such comments. A few weeks later, Preston allegedly stopped the woman in a hallway at work and massaged her shoulders while speaking to her. That generated another complaint, and early this year Preston confronted the woman at a work-related event.

Preston was then fired for sexual harassment. At a hearing last week on Preston's claim for unemployment benefits, his attorney, Bradley Strouse, questioned Lauer at length on the origins of the "good looking" remark.

"It was, in fact, a 'Seinfeld' reference?" Strouse asked.

"Yes," Lauer replied.

Preston testified that he meant no harm by repeating the phrase. "It was just a continuation of that joke," he said.

He was denied unemployment benefits.

The case is similar to the 2004 firing of Ronald Knight, who worked as a manager at the Fareway grocery store in Shenandoah. Knight allegedly told a female subordinate that he had heard she was drunk and running naked through the streets the previous night. He also implied that her forgetfulness was due to lack of sex, and he telephoned her at home and asked what she was wearing.

Knight claimed that he was simply repeating comments heard on a "Seinfeld" show and that the remarks were made in jest. He was denied unemployment benefits.

In a 1992 Wisconsin case, Miller Brewing Co. fired one of its executives, Jerold Mackenzie, for an incident that stemmed from a "Seinfeld" episode.

Mackenzie had told his secretary about a show in which a woman was described by the series' characters as having a name that rhymed with part of the female anatomy. The woman was named Delores, and because Mackenzie was too embarrassed to tell his secretary what that rhymed with, he showed her the word in a dictionary.

After he was fired for sexual harassment, Mackenzie sued Miller Brewing Co. and his former secretary. The jury didn't believe the secretary felt harassed and awarded Mackenzie $1.5 million in damages, plus $25 million for unrelated claims. The verdict was appealed and eventually the entire jury award was set aside.

[Chocoholic]

While I agree that sexual harassment can be a problem, I truly believe these cases were just misunderstandings. Some people really need to get a sense of humor. I'm no Seinfeld fan, but if I heard a couple of my co-workers saying those things and they told me where it was from, I wouldn't take offense. Why can't people just lighten up and have fun?

[catlover79]

I think it had more to do with all the emails he sent her and the massage he gave her. I don't blame her for being upset - I would be, too!!

[Chocoholic]

Oh yeah, that guy sounds like he he has a few screws loose, but the other two cases sound people just trying to have a little fun with each other during the workday.

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Chocoholic

Oh yeah, that guy sounds like he he has a few screws loose, but the other two cases sound people just trying to have a little fun with each other during the workday.

Yeah, I see your point.

[Schmoopie]

I think if he would have just made the comment "You're SO good-looking" (Love that, by the way) and left it at that, it would have been fine. He went too far in sending her e-mails. I try to take things with a grain of salt at work. We don't have email, but I don't know if I'd be offended, unless it really got out of hand. To me, having someone physically contact me in a way that makes me uncomfortable would be grounds for a complaint. As long as the other coworkers were joining in on the gag, it just sounds like they were doing it in fun. However, as I said, this guy should have left it at that.

[Seinatra]

Originally Posted by Schmoopie

I think if he would have just made the comment "You're SO good-looking" (Love that, by the way) and left it at that, it would have been fine. He went too far in sending her e-mails. I try to take things with a grain of salt at work. We don't have email, but I don't know if I'd be offended, unless it really got out of hand. To me, having someone physically contact me in a way that makes me uncomfortable would be grounds for a complaint. As long as the other coworkers were joining in on the gag, it just sounds like they were doing it in fun. However, as I said, this guy should have left it at that.

I agree.