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Test Yourself: Can you recognize workplace discrimination and harassment?

It can be challenging to know when certain behaviors are considered discrimination or harassment. Test your knowledge by determining whether each of these statements is true or false. Click below to see answers.

  1. In harassment cases, it’s the intent that counts. If a manager or employee is just joking, everyone should lighten up.
  2. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protects individuals aged 40 and over.
  3. A hostile work environment cannot be created merely by jokes or suggestive comments; there has to be physical contact.
  4. Only a supervisor or coworker can commit harassment against an employee. The laws don’t cover anyone else who may be in the workplace.
  5. Refusing to hire an applicant is an employment action that a court may rule as discriminatory, but a demotion is not.
  6. Occasional teasing that is not severe or pervasive generally is not considered harassment.
  7. In order for an act to be illegal harassment, it must happen again and again. A single incident isn’t enough to make a case out of.

Test Yourself: Can you recognize workplace discrimination and harassment?: Answers

Test Yourself solution

  1. False. Intent doesn’t matter. What counts is how people on the receiving end of comments or jokes feel about the action.
  2. True. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 generally prohibits employers with 20 or more employees from discrimination in employment on the basis of age. Individuals aged 40 and over are protected by the ADEA.
  3. False. Such factors often contribute to a hostile work environment.
  4. False. A client, customer, or vendor can also commit harassment against an employer’s employees.
  5. False. Employment actions that could be ruled discriminatory include: denial of employment or promotion, reassignment with significantly different responsibilities, and demotion.
  6. True. Occasional teasing generally will not result in a finding of unlawful harassment. But that doesn’t mean you should condone it.
  7. False. With more serious acts, particularly involving a physical assault, one incident can be enough for it to be considered illegal.