In the workplace, many people feel they have a close enough relationship that they feel comfortable telling the occasional joke or acting humorously around each other. However, you or one of your co-workers may cross a thin line between humor and harassment. If you feel like someone you work with has been harassing you under the guise of humor, you should consider the following:

Is a Joke Really Harassment?

By law, harassment in the workplace is any type of discrimination that violates the codes within the ADA, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, or the Civil Rights Act. Harassment is any sort of conduct that is unwelcome and based on different personal characteristics. This can include age, gender, race, disability, and the like.

A joke can quickly become a source of harassment if it meets several different factors. First, the joke has to be something forced on you to endure in order to maintain your employment. Secondly, the joke has to be so bad that it creates a hostile, intimidating, or abusive environment at work.

When Is It Not a Joke?

If you have someone who is just being annoying or bothersome in a way that is not discriminatory or ongoing, chances are it is not meant to be harassing behavior. It is simply someone with bad humor. If this happens to you, the best course of action is to inform the person who is trying to make a joke that you do not appreciate the way he or she speaks to you, even in a joking matter.

Name-calling may or may not be a different matter. It truly depends on your industry. For example, those who are in the construction industry may be more likely to make jokes that involve name-calling from time to time for some good-natured ribbing. However, when the name-calling becomes excessive or discriminatory in nature, it is bordering on harassment.

The humor most definitely constitutes harassment when it involves racial slurs, is sexual in nature to the point that you feel personally attacked, or anything else in which you feel unsafe. These types of jokes and humor can quickly devolve into harassment and could be cause for a harassment lawsuit.

What Can You Do?

If you have experienced harassment at work under the guise of humor, you need to inform your human resources department. If they are unable to do anything to quell the behavior, you may want to consider speaking to an employment law attorney to see if you have a case against your employer for harassment.