We were made aware of a recent decision from a federal court filed in Pennsylvania which held, among many other things, that a police lieutenant calling a female detective a “gabbygail” and “spankasauras” could be considered severe or pervasive harassment and constitute a hostile work environment, given the other facts which show that she suffered harassing treatment.

We report this case because we never before heard these words and, given our duty to both learn and educate, we wanted to advance our learning and the learning of our readers.

See ruling in Salvato v. Smith, E.D. Pa., No. 2:13-cv-02112.