Holiday Party Scandals To Avoid

"I think I got fired because of the holiday party."

Every December, without fail, I get the same panicked call. And guess what? It's never because of the open bar. It's always harassment.

You see, people forget that the holiday party is still a work event. It doesn't matter if it's at a rooftop bar or a country club or everyone's wearing sparkles instead of suits. The rules are the same. one joke that crosses the line, one comment about someone's body, one hand on a waist that wasn't invited, or even a late night DM after the party. Any of that can qualify as harassment.

And here's the part that no one thinks about. If someone complains, your employer is legally required to investigate. And if they decide misconduct happened, termination, suspension, writeups, everything is on the table.

If something happened to you at a work event and you're wondering, "Was that harassment? Was that retaliation?" Call me.