It’s Halloween, and we employment lawyers would be remiss if we didn’t comment on the ways that workplace Halloween costumes can sometimes go wrong. The negative flack that celebrity Julianne Hough is receiving in the news for her blackface Halloween costume highlights the reality that, while Halloween revelry at work can be great fun, it can also come with a risk that an employee crosses over a racial, cultural, political, or other line and offends someone.
1. In a trio of cases - Devane v. Sears Home Improvement Products,Inc., EEOC v. Body Firm Aerobics, Inc., and Perez v. Horizon Lines, Inc.,- employers faced legal claims after employees made inappropriate and sexually harassing comments to other employees in connection with Halloween. Similarly, an employer was sued in Swinney v. Illinois State Police after an employee forwarded an email about sexually‐themed Halloween costumes.
2. Employers have also faced racial discrimination claims following Halloween. In Heard v. Board of Trustees, Jackson Comm.Coll., a racial discrimination claim included allegations that an employee was offended when another employee talked about how the employee’s daughter and friend were dressing up for Halloween as Kanye West and Taylor Swift.
Again, some thoughtful planning can help you steer clear of such lawsuits. Some steps that an employer might consider include sending a communication to employees ahead of time encouraging tasteful and respectful workplace costumes and sending a worker home if a costume is racially or otherwise inappropriate.
With these tips in hand, have fun out there today!