In a landmark ruling last week, the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals has paved the way for employers to be sued for allowing offensive music to be played in the workplace and sets a precedent that offensive actions affecting both men and women can still be considered as sex discrimination.

The lawsuit, filed by eight former employees of S&S Activewear in Reno, Nevada, focused on the company’s practice of allowing workers to play rap music with derogatory terms referring to women as “hos” and “bitches”, among other slurs. Seven of the plaintiffs are women and one is male.