The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which oversees workplace discrimination, is considering a racial harassment case where the Gadsden Flag could const...

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which oversees workplace discrimination, is considering a racial harassment case where the Gadsden Flag could constitute racial harassment.

The insignia – a coiled rattlesnake – was designed during the Revolutionary War in 1775. Throughout the past decade, it has become a rallying symbol of conservatives and the Tea Party Movement.

The EEOC received a complaint in January 2014, when a black federal employee known as “Shelton” said a coworker was wearing a hat bearing the flag, Fox News reported. The complainant claimed the Gadsden Flag denotes racism because its creator, Christopher Gadsden, was a slave trader. Shelton said he was subjected to racial discrimination when a coworker “repeatedly wore a cap” of the Gadsden Flag.

Should the federal government consider Gadsden flag attire racial harassment?