Opinion ID: 799599
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Intimidating, Hostile or Offensive Work Environment

Text: Another essential component of a hostile work environment claim requires the plaintiff to show that the unwelcome sexual conduct or communications were intended to or did in fact substantially interfere with the plaintiff's employment or created an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. Haynie, 664 N.W.2d at 133. The essence of a hostile work environment action is that one or more supervisors or coworkers create an atmosphere so infused with hostility toward members of one sex that they alter the conditions of employment for them. Radtke, 501 N.W.2d at 163 (citations omitted). The existence of a hostile work environment shall be determined by whether a reasonable person, in the totality of the circumstances, would have perceived the conduct at issue as substantially interfering with the plaintiff's employment or having the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. Id. at 167. Factors relevant to the inquiry include: the frequency of the discriminatory conduct; the conduct's severity; whether the conduct was physically threatening or humiliating or merely an offensive utterance; and whether the conduct unreasonably interfered with the employee's work performance. See Quinto, 547 N.W.2d at 320 (quoting Harris v. Forklift Sys., Inc., 510 U.S. 17, 23, 114 S.Ct. 367, 126 L.Ed.2d 295 (1993)). Except in the case of extreme incidents such as rape or sexual assault, a single, isolated event is typically insufficient to create a hostile work environment. See Radtke, 501 N.W.2d at 168 & n. 40. The single necrophilia comment that Rich directed at Kalich, the only comment Kalich cites that could conceivably constitute sexual harassment, is not the sort of extremely traumatic experience that Michigan courts recognize as creating a hostile work environment based on a single occurrence. Under the applicable standard, a reasonable person would not perceive this single remark as being so severe and extreme as to create an objectively hostile work environment. The remainder of Rich's remarks, though unprofessional and perhaps subjectively hurtful, embarrassing, or offensive to Kalich, are not actionable under ELCRA because, as discussed above, they are not inherently sexual in nature. Therefore, the record before the district court was insufficient to withstand summary judgment on this element of Kalich's claim as well.