It’s All In The Name

It’s All In The Name

 Hello Name Tag


Less obvious types of discrimination and harassment may come in the form of verbal ques which are meant to identify a person’s physical features or other characteristics. For example, referring to a tall person as a “bean pole” or an attractive person as “eye candy.” Most of us are familiar with playful names or descriptors amongst friends and family, but in a work setting, there is no reason that anyone should be identified by any other term or label than their proper name or position title. Assigning labels to an individual or group to describe their size/weight, gender, race/color typically has no legitimate business purpose. It can inadvertently become a mechanism for employers or employees to secretly use a code word or phrase to describe someone that may also have a negative impact or perception of that individual’s abilities, reputation, future position assignments and more.

There are legitimate business reasons which may require that an employee be described in detail. For example, loss prevention agents often have to describe employees who may be suspected of unlawful activity when a report is made to a police agency. In situations where an employee is seeking a reasonable accommodation for a qualified impairment, the employee’s physical attributes may need to be known when assessing functional limitations. Any time that descriptors are used to identify an employee or group of employees or job candidates it is imperative that it is done for legitimate, lawful purpose.

For more information regarding harassment and discrimination policies and prevention, review California Government Code section 12940 or visit the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s website at

Written by : Super User