Swear word in work row 'not OK' Top court's latest ruling in flip-flopping record

(ANSA) - Rome, September 29 - Italy's highest appeals court on Wednesday said the use of swear words in work rows was not excusable on the grounds that they are so commonly used in everyday speech.In the latest in a string of seesawing verdicts, the Cassation Court said an Abruzzo employer who called a member of his staff a "b**ch" could not escape a fine of 240 euros for offending her.The boss had vainly argued that the term "str**za" was "admittedly a strong epithet but part of common language".A lawyer said "everyone knew that the boss, as a typical Roman, often used the word and no one should take offence at it".The judges rejected this argument, saying that "employers are supposed to use different words to reprimand staff" and "the expression in question shows he wanted to hurt". Wednesday's ruling was the second time in six months the court had rejected a claim that a swear word used in a work row was now so common it should not cause offence.The incriminated phrase in April was 'Vai a cagare', which refers to a basic bodily function and is a fairly common expletive used to disagree with someone.That sentence appeared to mark a fresh U-turn in the Cassation Court's pronouncements on offensive language, which is punishable in Italy if it is deemed to offend a person's "sense of honour".In a landmark 2007 ruling, the court said that the F-word was now acceptable because it had become a feature of everyday language.The court has dithered on insults since that verdict on Vaf****ulo, or F*** Off.In January, in its latest deliberation, it said it was not OK to use the F-word against neighbours.The Cassation Court said it should not be used with people living next to you "because neighbourly relations must be marked by greater mutual respect".The supreme court earned world headlines with its July 2007 ruling when it cleared an Abruzzo town councillor who told the mayor to ''f-off'' during a stormy town meeting because the expression was now ''common usage''.But then the court began flip-flopping.In late 2007 it ruled bosses couldn't say employees were ''doing f***-all'' but a similar case in May 2008 saw the court take another view, saying mayors could use the word freely to swear at contractors.The following July, it said bosses must not swear at their staff in a case where a Sicilian company director accused an employee of not understanding ''a f***ing thing''.But more recently, in March 2009, the judges said it was fine to say ''Who the f*** do you think you are?'' to a boss as an ''instinctive'' reaction to being reprimanded.People take insults very seriously in Italy and cases for 'wounding personal honour' regularly reach the courts.photo: Cassation Court