Hate Crime Law

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-3 (2010)

Enhances punishment for offenses committed because of victim’s race, color, religion, nationality, or country of origin.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-12.14 (2010)

It shall be unlawful for any person or persons, while wearing a mask, hood or device whereby the person, face or voice is disguised so as to conceal the identity of the wearer, to place or cause to be placed at or in any place in the State any exhibit of any kind whatsoever, with the intention of intimidating any person or persons, or of preventing them from doing any act which is lawful, or of causing them to do any act which is unlawful. For the purposes of this section, the term “exhibit” includes items such as a noose.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-401.14 (2010)

(a) If a person shall, because of race, color, religion, nationality, or country of origin, assault another person, or damage or deface the property of another person, or threaten to do any such act, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

A person who assembles with one or more persons to teach any technique or means to be used to commit any act in violation of subsection (a) of this section is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Unlawful Workplace Harassment

Any unwelcome or unsolicited speech or conduct based upon race, sex, creed, religion, national origin, age, genetic information, color or handicapping condition as defined by G. S. 168A-3 that creates a hostile work environment or circumstances involving quid pro quo.

Hostile Work Environment

An environment in which a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive and one that the particular person who is the object of the harassment perceives to be hostile or abusive. Hostile work environment is determined by looking at all of the circumstances including the frequency of the allegedly harassing conduct, its severity, whether it is physically threatening or humiliating, and whether it unreasonably interferes with an employees work performance.

Quid Pro Quo

Harassment that consists of unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or other verbal or physical conduct when

  • submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment, OR
  • submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such an individual

Retaliation

Adverse treatment which occurs because of opposition to unlawful workplace harassment.