Yes. In some cases behavior intended as a joke can be considered unlawful discriminatory harassment. Harassment is unwanted, unsolicited, unwelcome, repeated, and/or offensive, comments, materials, and/or behavior that demeans, belittles, intimidates, or humiliates another person because of their protected status under the law or Executive Order (i.e., race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, status as a parent, genetic information, and/or reprisal). Unlawful discriminatory harassment can be verbal, physical, or non-verbal, and it violates federal law if it is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of employment and creates a hostile work environment. The test for determining whether conduct is harassing is not on what the person who engages in the conduct intended but on how such conduct would be perceived by a reasonable employee.
If my intentions are good, could my behavior be seen as discriminatory harassment?
Last Modified: Jan 31, 2014