Behaviors that lead to Illegal Workplace Harassment

There are a number of behaviors that could lead to illegal workplace harassment. When continuous and unwanted behaviors are insensitive or offensive and focus around a difference or perceived difference, they can reach the level of illegal workplace harassment. Workplace harassment training should focus on the various types of behaviors that are considered offensive. It does not hurt to specifically spell out a number of these behaviors to make sure there is complete employee understanding in your harassment training.

It’s important to note that these behaviors all by themselves probably don’t constitute harassment. The legal standard of harassment requires the behaviors to be continuous, unwanted and meet the "reasonable person standard” discussed on the previous page.

• Sending offensive or harassing emails
• Viewing offensive websites
• Using social networking sites for harassing or offensive behavior.
• Verbal, physical or cyber bullying including ridicule, mockery, insults, put-downs, threats or physically blocking a person’s movement or ability to work.
• The use of demeaning or offensive names such as "towelhead”, "homo” or "sweetheart” or the use of slurs or epithets like "You Jews are sure tight with money.”
• Gossiping or spreading rumors about co-workers.
• Telling insensitive jokes that are demeaning or degrading to a particular race, culture, sex or any other protected group.
• Menacing looks or gestures intended to threaten, intimidate or humiliate a co-worker.
• Sexual Harassment which includes any continuous, unwanted behavior of a sexual nature whether physical, visual or verbal.
• Making disparaging comments about a person’s job ability such as "He is too old to understand technology.”
• Texting pictures, messages or videos that offend, denigrate or harass a co-worker.
• Excluding or isolating someone from work-related activities and assignments because of a non work-related reason such as their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.
• Using crude or offensive language
• Making derogatory comments about a person’s sexual orientation
• Making jokes or comments about a person’s physical attributes
• Inappropriate remarks or jokes about a woman’s pregnancy
• Offensive gender based comments or behaviors that denigrate people simply because of their gender, such as "A woman’s place is in the kitchen, not the boardroom.”

Charlie Bentson king is a writer and producer of harassment training videos for TrainingABC.