Nobody wants to be stuck in a job that is monotonous and where they can’t have fun with their coworkers. However, “joking” can occasionally be misconstrued as workplace harassment. It’s critical to understand the distinction between joking and harassment, both to avoid going too far and to recognize when the law has been breached if you’ve been harassed.
Contact PLBH for a free legal consultation if you suspect you have been the victim of workplace harassment or another type of employment law violation.
People are terrible at judging what others will find amusing
Researchers from Harvard Business School conducted a study to test if others could identify what individuals thought amusing. They were unable to do so, as it turned out. The research included couples who had been together for years, so it wasn’t just a case of people making decisions based on what other people would think. On average, they were no better than a statistical prediction model in predicting what their spouse considered amusing.
What is the significance of this? Because, although one person may think a joke to be amusing, harmless, and light, others may find it disrespectful and even harassing.
What Is the Difference Between Joking and Harassment?
There are provisions against harassment in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Simply put, harassment is any undesirable behavior motivated by certain protected qualities. They consist of a person’s:
- Age is a factor (if they are over 40)
- Religion
- National origin
- Race
- Color
- Sex
- Disability
It’s worth noting that the victim does not have to be the person who the “jokester” was targeting; anybody who is upset by the behavior might be the victim.
Jokes that could be interpreted as harassment
One of the following must be true for a joke to be considered criminal harassment:
- It was a requirement of employment to put up with the joke. In other words, if they had refused the “joke,” they would have been fired (or reasonably believed they would be fired).
- A reasonable person would have regarded the work atmosphere unpleasant, hostile, or frightening because of the “jokes.”
That isn’t to say that belittling or bothering someone isn’t harassment. If you make a mistake and your supervisor labels you a “rookie,” for example, it may be unpleasant, but it is not harassment. That is, until they do it on a regular basis and you begin to feel undesired working there. You could have a case at that time.
On the other hand, certain “jokes” are sufficiently severe that they can be used as the foundation for a harassment claim after just one occurrence. Using a racist insult, for example. Contact PLBH at (800) 435-7542 to talk with an employment attorney if you suspect you have been the victim of workplace harassment.