A recent Law360 article by reporter Anne Cullen, Employers Weigh Emoji Bans to Curb Bias, Harassment Suits, discusses the increase in emojis popping up in workplace discrimination and harassment cases. She interviews Kang Haggerty managing member Edward Kang for his perspective:
“My advice is to not use them in the workplace at all because there is no such thing as a safe emoji,” Kang says in the article.
Even ones that appear innocuous can be problematic, noting that the popular “thumbs up” emoji, for example, tends to have a positive connotation with older generations but can be seen as dismissive by a younger viewer.