Retaliation is the most frequently alleged basis of discrimination in the federal sector and the most common discrimination finding in federal sector cases. As EEOC works to address this issue, you can help. Learn more about what constitutes retaliation, why it happens, and how to prevent it.
The EEO laws prohibit punishing job applicants or employees for asserting their rights to be free from employment discrimination including harassment. Retaliation occurs when an employer takes an adverse action against an employee for engaging in or exercising their rights that are protected under the law. Common activities that may incite retaliation include the following:. If following one or more of these actions, you faced undue consequences or noticed other signs of retribution; you may have grounds for a legal retaliation claim.
Retaliation can take many forms, and any negative action taken by an employer which is severe enough that it might deter a reasonable employee from exercising their legal rights is likely to be sufficient to support a legal claim of retaliation. This might be retaliation, although it would be tricky to establish without the help of an experienced attorney. Yet another example of retaliation is if you are a manager who wears a hijab to the restaurant where you work, and your supervisor asks you not to do so because it is "scaring off" customers.
You complain to HR that you believe that this is religious discrimination. Shortly afterward, you are demoted to a position in the kitchen.
The choice to demote you may be retaliation. Another example of retaliation would be if you take medical leave to care for a child whom you adopted. You are told that your job will be held for you because the employer is covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act.
The amount of time that passes between your protected activity and any adverse actions taken against you may affect your ability to prove your claim under federal, state, and local laws. If you have been hurt due to retaliation in the workplace, you should contact us online or call us at to set up a free appointment with a discrimination or harassment lawyer. The determination of the need for legal services and the choice of a lawyer are extremely important decisions and should not be based solely upon advertisements or self-proclaimed expertise.
No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.
Any testimonial or endorsement does not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter. Steve complains of racial discrimination. You immediately fire Steve for a poor attitude. But activities and actions like transfers are a lot more difficult to pin down. Retaliation is only illegal when the action that precedes the retaliation is protected by law.
This can vary from state to state. Some states have whistleblower protections that protect employees who bring up any variety of illegal activities, but not all. If an employee makes a complaint that is unfounded, retaliation can be legal, and it can be illegal. For instance, if Jane complains that John is sexually harassing her, and you investigate and find out that actually John just asked her out one time. Factually, you found that Jane said no and he never bothered her again.
But, you still cannot retaliate against Jane as long as she genuinely believed that John behaved illegally. The critical issue is that an employee must have a sincere belief that what they reported is illegal. Otherwise, retaliation is allowed. You may have a situation in which an employee is a poor performer, and just before you were going to discipline or terminate the employee, he files a complaint.
If you have documentation, you can continue along the disciplinary path, but do consider that the employee's poor performance is a result of harassment or discrimination, rather than an entirely separate situation. Of course, a policy never solves all problems. You have to consider each situation carefully and on its own merits.
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