Human Resource Blog

Indiana Discrimination based on Race

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I’m an employer concerned about racial discrimination and free speech in Indiana. Are racial epithets and insulting graffiti still considered a hostile work environment if no one complains about them?

The lack of a complaint does not free you of your obligation to take steps to curb this kind of behavior in the workplace. Nor does the Constitutional right to free speech trump the legal need to insure against a hostile working environment.

A court case has found recently that the employer either was aware of, or should have been aware of, the hostile working environment in his place of business. The complaint against him ended up in that ruling, which cost him $600,000.

There are limits to free speech, even though it is an important right protected by the Constitution. Just as those limits do not allow for airplane bomb threats or shouting “fire” in a crowded theater, neither do they permit making offensive rights against groups, remarks that create a hostile workplace environment.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 says it is illegal to discriminate against people because of their color, race, sex, country of origin, or religion. The body enforcing Title VII is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC.

A pattern of insulting or abusive behavior is required to meet the legal test of “hostile working environment,” as well as the employer’s knowledge of the situation. Because you are asking about this, it shows that you are aware of the behavior.

Workers may wait for more than a year to lodge a complaint. That is because some people will put up with the offensive remarks until they can no longer tolerate them. They have the right to file a complaint later. Legally, they are within their rights to decide at any time that the behavior has become distasteful.

A worker who is not a member of the group being targeted by the racist remarks may also legally file a complaint. The law takes such complaints seriously and will act on them. You as an employer must also take action in those situations.

The case in question involved a Pennsylvania steel mill. There was graffiti throughout the workplace and racist booklets and articles in the employees’ workroom.