--- title: Holiday Cheer turns to Holiday Horror description: Employer-sponsored holiday gatherings of co-workers is a common occurrence. Employers are wise to try and create events showing appreciation for employees to reduce turnover, keep up productivity, and just have a little fun. --- [Dan's Desk](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin) - [lawyer](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/lawyer) - [hugo](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/hugo) - [MN](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/mn) - [law](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/law) - [attorney](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/attorney) - [legal](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/legal) [Subscribe](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/holiday-cheer-turns-to-holiday-horror#) 12/09/2015 # Holiday Cheer turns to Holiday Horror - - - - - [mailto:?subject=Holiday%20Cheer%20turns%20to%20Holiday%20Horror&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gallatin-law.com%2Fblog%2Fholiday-cheer-turns-to-holiday-horror](mailto:?subject=Holiday%20Cheer%20turns%20to%20Holiday%20Horror&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gallatin-law.com%2Fblog%2Fholiday-cheer-turns-to-holiday-horror) Employer-sponsored holiday gatherings of co-workers is a common occurrence. Employers are wise to try and create events showing appreciation for employees to reduce turnover, keep up productivity, and just have a little fun. Everyone gets together, has a glass of wine or two....then workplace decorum starts to decrease and the employer's risk starts to increase. As workplace decorum slips, drinks start to flow, and the casual atmosphere takes hold, the prospect of an unwanted or sexually charged comment or advance looms larger. Goodbye fun times, Hello sexual harassment claim. Employers are wise to forewarn employees (and guests of employees) of their expected behavior at workplace parties. Minnesota law has extended an employer's liability for sexual harassment by its employees to off-site venues when the gathering is sponsored by the employer. [Minnesota's definition of sexual harassment](https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=363a.03#stat.363A.03.44) includes any comment, act, or suggestion, whether explicit or implicit, of a sexual nature. One helpful step employers can take is to circulate to its employees a written reminder of the employer's lack of tolerance for any inappropriate comments, overtures, or acts, and to assign two or more persons at any workplace party to refrain from drinking any alcohol at the function. If you or someone you know would like assistance addressing its workforce, please [contact us](https://gallatin-law.com/pages/contact-us) for a free consultation. The material contained herein is provided for informational purposes only and is not legal advice, nor is it a substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney. Each situation is unique, and you should not act or rely on any information contained herein without seeking the advice of an experienced attorney. All information contained in links are the property of the linked site. - [attorney](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/attorney), - [harassment](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/harassment), - [hugo](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/hugo), - [holiday](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/holiday), - [law](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/law), - [lawyer](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/lawyer), - [minnesota](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/minnesota), - [workplace law](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/workplace-law) ![Dan Gallatin](https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/assets-mjfw/site%20images/Dans-Desk.jpg) ## [Dan Gallatin](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin) Dan is a lifelong resident of Minnesota. Born in St. Paul, Dan spent many of his formative years growing up there before moving to White Bear Lake. After graduating from White Bear Lake, Dan spent four glorious years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning a degree in two majors. Dan worked as a Senior Investigator at the Minnesota Department of Commerce for several years after graduating from college. During his final years Dan attended William Mitchell College of Law while still working full-time. During this exhausting 3 ½ year period Dan honed his skills in becoming an efficient, to-the-point legal practitioner. While at Madison Dan met his wife, Tonya, and together they moved to Minnesota to plant their roots. Dan and Tonya have two amazing, unique children and reside in Hugo. ### CONNECT WITH ME - ## Related Posts [03/20/2019 Minnesota Court of Appeals Enforces Employment Agreement In a notable win for the employers of Minnesota, the Court of Appeals just issued an opinion affirming an employer's summary judgment win against an… Read Post ](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/minnesota-court-of-appeals-enforces-employment-agreement) [10/26/2016 FLSA Adjusted Exemption Rule Employers have a general concept of the exemption to overtime pay for salaried employees. Read Post ](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/flsa-adjusted-exemption-rule) ### Subscribe Here! ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Dan Gallatin", "url" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin" }, "dateModified" : "2020-08-21T23:00:54.742Z", "datePublished" : "2015-12-09T06:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Holiday Cheer turns to Holiday Horror", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/holiday-cheer-turns-to-holiday-horror", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/logos/Gallatin-Logo-654x84.png" }, "name" : "Gallatin Law, PLLC" } } ```