Quite a few times in TV shows and movies and only once in real life I've seen people with offensive tattoo or shirt symbols such as the Swastika. Is there a law in the United States that bans the display of a symbol such as this? If so, how do people with these symbols on them go out in public without getting caught?
asked Sep 25, 2015 at 21:10 466 2 2 gold badges 5 5 silver badges 16 16 bronze badgesyou can see many swastikas around hindu temples and even indian restaurants. the symbol is very old and predates national socialism, by which it was co-opted and compromised.
Commented Sep 25, 2015 at 21:12Yes and no.
While there are no general laws that ban the display of offensive symbols, they are prohibited in certain circumstances. Significantly, this is in the workplace.
It is illegal to discriminate on the following bases in the workplace:
a plaintiff claiming employment discrimination based upon race could assert a claim for a racially hostile work environment, in addition to the classic claim of so-called "disparate treatment."
Since you haven't been specific about the nature of the offensive symbol, some examples might be:
These are likely only to apply if the employer ought to have known, or did in fact know, that an employee (or in some cases, the customers) of a business would be offended, or it would amount to discrimination.
Of course, a single display of only the symbol is not likely, on its own, to create a hostile work environment - it would need to be considered with the rest of the facts - but it can certainly be a contributing factor.
It's a bit difficult to list all the situations where similar laws might apply, but this is one of the most prominent (and, to be honest, one of the ones that I'm personally interested in).