Nobody wants to be stuck in a monotonous job where they cannot make jokes with their coworkers. However, some actions or comments on different topics could offend some people. Sometimes, humor at your workplace creates an unconducive environment, making you a victim of workplace harassment. You are entitled to take legal action against the liable parties.
Harassment is unwelcome conduct based on race, color, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, and genetic information, among other sensitive matters. If jokes made at the workplace go too far and violate your rights against workplace harassment, you can file a lawsuit against the liable parties or your employer.
Hiring a competent attorney is critical to holding the individuals liable for harassing you. If you or a loved one faces harassment at the workplace, you will benefit from the expert legal insight we offer at Sexual Harassment Attorney. Our skilled attorneys will guide you through recognizing harassment and pursuing a civil lawsuit.
When Joking Moves into the Realm of Harassment at the Workplace
Everyone wants to work in a lively environment where they can have fun and joke with their colleagues. Humor can boost a team’s spirit, ease tension, and make working together fun. A clever observation by a leader or a lighthearted joke can make a leader more approachable.
To avoid making offensive jokes or to identify when you are experiencing harassment, it is crucial to distinguish between joking and harassment. Harassment could be any undesirable behavior motivated by certain protected qualities.
California law has provisions against harassment, including:
- The Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
- The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
Offensive jokes at the workplace can take many forms, including:
- This includes physical intimidation based on a person’s appearance or unwanted physical contact.
- Making comments that attack a person’s protected characteristics can quickly transform from a joke into harassment.
- Cartoons, photographs, or drawings depicting offensive acts could count as harassment.
Some of the instances when jokes violate your rights are when they involve topics surrounding:
Age
For individuals over forty years old, making jokes about their abilities and disabilities at the workplace based on their age is considered offensive and can be a basis for a workplace harassment claim. You may feel offended by such conduct, even in cases where the jokes or comments are general and not directed at you.
Sex
There is nothing wrong with your sense of humor if you find sexual jokes offensive. This is because some jokes could be demeaning and reinforce negative and unrealistic stereotypes. Additionally, some comments or jokes that are viewed as harmless can create a gateway to unwelcome sexual advances or escalate to sexual abuse.
Your employer should not allow obscene language or sexual jokes, which could cause another person to be offended. Some of the sexual jokes that could be viewed as harassment under California law include:
- Jokes containing profanity and strong sexual language
- Sex jokes against you are told loudly at the workplace
- Jokes involving graphic descriptions of sexual acts
- Sexual jokes emailed to your work computer by a fellow employee, supervisor, or manager
You can claim sexual harassment even when a joke is not directed at you. If someone makes a general sexual comment that you find offensive, you may be a victim of harassment.
Race
Race is a sensitive topic for many individuals. For this reason, employers are expected to have policies to prevent discrimination and harassment based on race. If a person makes racially insensitive jokes about you or makes you feel uncomfortable, you have a right to report the incident as harassment.
Disability
Jokes at work can lighten the mood and make work less monotonous. However, if they revolve around a sensitive issue like disability, they can cause another person to feel intimidated, insulted, or humiliated, creating an unconducive environment for the person. Humiliating jokes about a person’s disability are against the law.
Religion
The workplace is a home for individuals of diverse religions. Therefore, inclusion and mutual respect for each other’s religion should exist. If a colleague, manager, or supervisor makes offensive comments about your religion or religious attire, you can sue them for harassment. This could be the case even in cases where the comments are meant to be humorous.
Steps to take if you are a Victim of Workplace Harassment
Jokes that go too far and cause you discomfort or make you feel threatened at work can impact your productivity. Fortunately, California law protects all employees by enforcing measures to ensure that they are protected from workplace harassment. This includes imposing requirements for employers to create a conducive working environment and ensure reports of harassment are handled promptly.
If you are a victim of harassment at work, you can take the following steps to ensure that the liable parties are held accountable for their actions:
Talk to the Offender
Talking to someone who made an offensive joke about you or affected you may make you feel uncomfortable. There is a thin line between jokes and harassment. The best way to stop a particular behavior is by calling it out. When you put a wrongdoer on notice, and their behavior fails to change, you can have a legal basis to claim that their advances, comments, or behavior were unwelcome.
Research Whether Your Company Has Anti-Harassment Policies
Jokes made at the workplace, whether directed at you or another person, can offend you. If the humor goes too far and you believe you are a victim of harassment, you must research whether your company has anti-harassment policies.
This helps you understand the reporting channels and the next steps to take. You must document the information about the alleged harassment. This includes indicating the dates, times, and circumstances under which the offensive jokes were made. Additionally, you must indicate the names of all involved parties.
Report the Harassment to your Employer
Based on the information you gathered on existing reporting policies, you can report the harassment to your manager, supervisor, or HR. If you cannot find the right policies to guide your steps, you can report the incident directly to your employer.
By reporting the harassment, you allow the company to investigate the allegations and resolve the issue. Additionally, following the proper channels will preserve your legal rights.
Your ability to hold your employer or the company accountable for the harassment you suffered is based on whether you informed them about the incident. If a manager or supervisor harasses you, you can claim that you feared action like demotion or being fired for reporting.
However, if the harassment is from a fellow employee who cannot take significant action to protect your job, you can lose your right to hold the company accountable.
-
Employer Liability for Workplace Harassment
Humor and jokes, which translate to workplace harassment, are serious issues that could affect the well-being and productivity of employees. Under California law, employers have specific legal requirements to ensure this does not happen in their workplace. If instances of jokes going too far into the realm of harassment occur, the employer should ensure that they are handled effectively.
Failure to do this could result in liability for harassment, even when the perpetrator is not the perpetrator of the offensive acts. Some of how employers are expected to address workplace harassment include:
-
Establish Solid Anti-Harassment Policies
Preventing harassment is more accessible than dealing with harassment lawsuits. Therefore, one of the most critical ways for employers to prevent harassment in the workplace is to establish anti-harassment policies. California law mandates that employers with up to five employees have a written policy to prohibit harassment based on protected topics like race, color, sex, and religion.
This policy must indicate the acts that qualify as harassment. If you face workplace harassment, you can file a lawsuit against your employer if they do not have an anti-harassment policy.
In addition to establishing these policies, employers must ensure that all employees receive anti-harassment training. Training programs must cover all forms of harassment. When offering ethics training programs, it should be clear what can be considered a joke at work and what forms of humor count as harassment. This ensures that employees can interact freely and do not make comments or act in ways that cause harm to their colleagues.
-
Foster a Culture of Mutual Respect and Inclusion in the Workplace
Employers can avoid liability for workplace harassment lawsuits by fostering a culture of mutual respect among employees. This is achieved by promoting diversity and providing training on inclusion. When employees learn about inclusion and respect, they will be mindful of the type of jokes and humor they use to ensure it is not offensive to others.
-
Create Proper Channels of Reporting
Creating a safe reporting environment ensures employees are not afraid to express their concerns. Your employer must inform you about the available harassment reporting channels and ensure you understand your right to report harassment to the company.
-
Thoroughly Investigate Complaints
After receiving a workplace harassment complaint, an employer should thoroughly and promptly investigate it. The investigations, in this case, must be conducted by qualified personnel. An investigation of workplace harassment will involve interviewing all the involved parties and gathering relevant evidence before confirming or dismissing the complaint.
File an Administrative Charge
Before filing a federal lawsuit, you must file an administrative charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or other relevant agencies. The EEOC requires you to file your harassment claim within 180 days of the incident. If a local or state agency enforces laws against harassment, your deadline for filing the claim will be extended to 300 days.
Under California law, you have up to three years to file a claim with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). When the EEOC receives your complaint, they will inform your employer and take different measures depending on the circumstances. These measures include:
- Conducting further investigations
- Dismissing your complaint
- Request that you and your employer settle the issue.
- Mediate the dispute.
- Issue you a right to sue
Receive a Right to Sue
In addition to informing your employer of the complaint, the EEOC will send your complaint to the alleged harasser and initiate an investigation. If they find relevant evidence to prove that the harassment occurred, they will issue you with a right-to-sue letter. This allows you to file a civil claim against the perpetrators of the harassment.
File a Lawsuit
After receiving a right to sue, you have up to one year to file a lawsuit. You must gather all the evidence necessary to file a strong lawsuit during this time. The first step to a successful lawsuit is hiring and retaining a competent lawyer. Your attorney will help you protect your rights and gather the relevant evidence to support your lawsuit.
In this case, you can file a civil lawsuit against the perpetrator of the harassment, a person who makes an offensive joke that causes you distress or fear. Additionally, you can file a lawsuit against your employer or the company. This could be the case if your employer is the harasser or fails to take relevant measures to stop or address the issue.
When you file a civil lawsuit for harassment in California, you must prove that the jokes made at your workplace were offensive.
Compensation Benefits for a Workplace Harassment Lawsuit
You may be awarded compensation for the following damages if your workplace harassment lawsuit is successful:
Medical Expenses
Jokes at the workplace could be verbal or physical pranks that cause harm to you. Sometimes, the harassment may take an emotional toll on you, causing mental, psychological, and emotional disorders like stress and depression. In this case, you may need to seek therapy and counseling.
Sometimes, jokes that go too far can worsen a person’s medical condition. Seeking therapy and counseling in California may be costly. Fortunately, you did not have to bear these expenses. You will be compensated for these medical expenses after your lawsuit.
Lost Wages
Harassment has different effects on different people. If the offensive jokes made at work caused you severe emotional distress that resulted in you not going to work for a certain period, you may be entitled to compensation for lost wages in your lawsuit. Additionally, you can receive a payout for lost wages if voicing the harassment resulted in a job loss or demotion.
Lost wages are the amount you could have earned for the days you missed work or the amount you lost when you were fired. If your harassment resulted in additional measures against your job, you could file a lawsuit for wrongful termination.
Emotional Distress
A joke made to lighten up the mood in the office can cause you severe emotional distress. This is the case, especially in instances where the comment or action of another person towards you is on a protected subject like race, sex, religion, or disability.
Although emotional distress cannot be quantified, it could impact one's ability to function personally or professionally. For this reason, one can be compensated for these damages in a lawsuit.
Punitive Damages
While compensatory damages seek to compensate you for the losses you have suffered from the harassment, punitive damages punish the wrongdoer. You can receive compensation for punitive damages in cases where you file a lawsuit against your employer. In this case, you must prove that you reported the harassment to your employer and that they did not take the right measures to stop it or that the company lacked the necessary anti-harassment policies.
The specific amount of compensation you recover from your lawsuit could depend on the following factors:
- The frequency of the alleged conduct
- The context in which the harassment occurred
- Whether or not the conduct was humiliating and physically threatening
- Whether the conduct interfered with the victim's ability to work
Find a Reliable Sexual Harassment Attorney Near Me
Your workplace is supposed to be a safe area where you can perform your duties without fear of harassment. While people can make jokes and have fun at the workplace, some forms of humor can be considered harassment under California law. Jokes and humor at the workplace can be considered harassment if they are offensive to another person or create a hostile working environment for them.
If you are a victim of workplace harassment, you can file a civil lawsuit against your abuser. If your employer learns about the abuse and fails to take relevant action, you may also have a valid lawsuit against them. The civil lawsuit ensures the liable parties are held accountable for any harm they may have caused you.
Navigating a workplace harassment lawsuit in California may be complex. This is because some acts that count as harassment could be hidden behind humor and jokes. Therefore, hiring and retaining an experienced attorney is critical. At the Sexual Harassment Attorney, we are dedicated to upholding the rights and interests of employees at the workplace. Contact us at 800-905-1856 for much-needed legal insight.
