Government deciding whether 'Don't Tread On Me' shirts and hats are workplace harassment

(FOX NEWS)- The federal agency that oversees workplace discrimination is considering whether wearing attire with the Gadsden flag constitutes racial harassment.

The familiar insignia of the coiled rattlesnake above the words "Don't Tread on Me" was designed during the Revolutionary War in 1775 and has been a rallying symbol of conservatives and the Tea Party Movement.

But the EEOC said it received a complaint in January 2014 from an African-American federal employee about a coworker wearing a hat bearing the flag.

The complainant claimed the Gadsden flag denotes racism because its creator, Christopher Gadsden, was a slave trader.

Full story from FOX News.