Employment — hostile work environment

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United States Court of Appeals

Civil

Employment — hostile work environment

Calling an employee “cutie” is insufficient to constitute a hostile work environment.

“While both inappropriate and condescending, Bielecki referring to Overly as ‘cutie’ 5 to 10 times over the course of two months is not sufficiently severe or pervasive to create a hostile work environment by itself, especially since it is undisputed that Bielecki stopped when asked. Further, Bielecki’s single statement that Overly’s and another female co-worker’s ‘pretty faces’ would better represent KeyBank at a golf outing than his ‘ugly mug’ is not objectively offensive, even if Overly may have found it subjectively so. Indeed, nothing Bielecki is alleged to have done because of Overly’s gender, taken individually or as a whole, can be viewed as threatening or humiliating, much less frequent enough, to have unreasonably interfered with her work performance. Accepting as true for purposes of summary judgment that Bielecki also made Overly leave her purse and planner outside of a meeting, that one-time act is also not sufficiently severe or frequent to meet the Scruggs standard.”

Affirmed.

10-2705 Overly v. KeyBank National Association

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Barker, J., Conley, J.