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Retaliation

After job-bias complaint, remind managers to keep calm & manage on

02/23/2015
While employees filed fewer charges of job discrimination in 2014 than the year before, one new statistic from the EEOC should make HR and employers stand up and take notice: More than 2 in 5 charges last year allege some form of retaliation against the employee for pursuing the discrimination claim.

Simple transfer could be considered retaliation

02/17/2015

Ordinarily, retaliation re­quires a so-called adverse employment action, such as discharge or demotion. Lesser actions, such as a lateral transfer, don’t count. That is, unless that transfer carries with it serious consequences—such as a dramatically longer commute.

It could be retaliation: Think twice before forcing transfer that greatly affects commute

02/10/2015

Employees who complain about alleged discrimination, either to their employer or to an agency such as the EEOC, are protected from retaliation. Ordinarily, that re­quires a so-called adverse employment action like discharge or demotion. Lesser actions, such as a lateral transfer, don’t count.

2 big cases reinforce: Beware adverse action against employees who report wrongdoing

01/26/2015
Two California Court of Appeal districts have significantly ex­­panded employee protection for whistle-blowers. The cases highlight that employees don’t actually have to “blow the whistle” to be protected from retaliation.

Minnesota State Supreme Court extends time for whistle-blowers to file

01/21/2015
The Minnesota Supreme Court has overturned 20 years of precedent, ruling that some whistle-blower cases may be filed up to six years following an employer’s discriminatory act.

Employee’s discrimination complaint shouldn’t derail legitimate discipline

01/21/2015
Some employees think they can keep from getting fired by going to HR or the EEOC with a discrimination complaint. Then, they reason, if their employer does terminate them, it will be retaliation. Fortunately, that’s not true.

Whistle-blower alert: Beware punishing employees who report customer wrongdoing

01/21/2015

You may prefer a “don’t rock the boat” mentality when it comes to reporting to police or other governmental authorities that a customer may be breaking the law. That doesn’t mean you can force employees to remain silent—or worse yet, punish them for going to authorities. Doing that could cost a fortune in damage awards, especially if it turns out that your employee was right.

Jury trial approved for retaliatory discharge claims

01/15/2015
Employees who claim they were fired for seeking workers’ comp benefits are entitled to a jury trial. That can result in big damages, as juries are notoriously prone to making employers pay.

Not every complaint amounts to protected activity

01/14/2015

It’s illegal to retaliate against employees for engaging in protected activity. But not every complaint qualifies as protected activity. For example, under Title VII, retaliation is only illegal if it relates to a complaint about some form of discrimination covered by that law.

False arrest can be retaliation

01/14/2015
It’s almost always a bad idea to make an example out of a terminated employee.