The Associated Press is reporting, via the Examiner, that a Department of Homeland Security employee has been placed on leave after wearing a Halloween costume that was racially insensitive - even though it won "most original" in the agency costume contest.

Deciding what costume to wear for Halloween can be tricky enough, but deciding what to wear to an office Halloween costume party in D.C. is tough business. You certainly wouldn't want to wear the same ironically offensive or too sexy number you donned for a party over the weekend, but few of us have time to conceive and put together an entirely separate, work-appropriate costume. It does seem pretty obvious, however, that anyone in their right mind would avoid choosing to go in blackface:

The unidentified employee's costume of dreadlocks, dark makeup and prison stripes was deemed by [Assistant Secretary of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division Julie] Myers and two other managers as the "most original" at the party. After receiving complaints from some employees, Myers e-mailed an apology to her staff, saying a few costumes at the party were inappropriate and offensive.

Photo by zenfrisbee