What standard do courts use to assess whether conduct constitutes harassment?

• A. Reasonable Person Standard
• B. Rigid Standard
• C. Unreasonable Person Standard
• D. Competent Person Standard

Answer: (A)

Courts use an objective standard: would a reasonable person in the target’s situation view the conduct as harassing? This focuses on how the behavior would be perceived in the given context, not the harasser’s intent. It looks at factors like frequency, severity, whether the conduct was unwelcome, the power dynamics involved, and whether a protected characteristic is targeted. The goal is a fair, consistent measure of what constitutes harassment by grounding the assessment in how a typical person would react, while still acknowledging the context and the recipient’s perspective. Other described standards don’t fit this approach because they don’t reflect the usual, objective way courts evaluate harassment.