The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) defines unlawful harassment as “Verbal or physical conduct that degrades, shows hostility, or aversion to an individual because of his or her race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age or disability, or that of one’s friends, relatives or associates.”   According to the EEOC, the conduct must be “so objectively offensive as to alter the ‘conditions’ of the victim’s employment.”  

The conditions of employment are altered if the harassment culminates in a tangible employment action (fired, suspended, denied training, denied an award, etc.) or when the conduct was sufficiently severe or pervasive to create a hostile work environment.   Harassment can take the form of slurs, graffiti, offensive or derogatory comments, or other verbal or physical conduct.   Sexual harassment (including unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other conduct of a sexual nature) is also unlawful.   Conduct crosses the line when it goes beyond simple teasing and offhanded comments or when there are more than just isolated incidents and there is a pattern of such incidents.  

The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.

Harassment outside of the workplace may also be illegal if there is a link with the workplace.   For example, if a supervisor harasses an employee while driving the employee to a meeting.

To file an internal complaint with the D&EO office or an external complaint with an outside organization, please see the contact information in the “Complaints of Discrimination” section above.

Preventing Harassment in the Workplace Brochure