EEOC Says Workplace Retaliation Complaints on the Rise

Recent reports from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) state that the number of workplace retaliation claims filed has surpassed the number of racial discrimination claims filed with that investigative body. In the Fiscal 2010 report, the EEOC identified the three essential elements of a workplace retaliation claim as follows:

1. Protected activity such as opposition to discrimination or participation in the statutory complaint process. Eg. Employee files a charge against employer for age discrimination.
2. Adverse action. Eg. The employee who has filed charges is transferred to a smaller branch location with lower earning possibilities.
3. Causal connection between the protected activity and the adverse action. Eg. The employee believes that this transfer constituted workplace retaliation by his/her employer as a response to the original claim of age discrimination.

One much publicized case, which is typical of the cases seen by the EEOC, has just recently concluded in Cambridge, Massachusetts. An African American, female, immigrant, Malvina Monteiro, who, along with other women, filed a civil rights racial discrimination charge against the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Monteiro claimed that after she had filed the racial discrimination charges, Bob Healy, City Manager, participated in workplace retaliation by removing some of Montero's duties, soliciting complaints against her and ultimately terminated her in 2003.

After a lengthy legal battle, a jury awarded Monteiro $4.5 million to cover punitive damages, back pay, emotional distress and psychiatric problems. The city of Cambridge lost it's appeal in 2010 when the appellate court upheld the original ruling stating that Bob Healy's testimony was "inconsistent and incoherent."

These types of workplace retaliation claims totalled 36, 258 in fiscal year 2010, compared to racial discrimination filings which numbered 35, 890. .For fiscal 2010, the other types of discrimination claims addressed by the EEOC were as follows:

Sex - 29, 029
Disability - 25, 165
Age - 23, 264
National Origin - 11,304
Religion - 3, 790

Employers who want to lower risk of workplace retaliation claims must pay close attention to behaviors that could be considered retaliatory under EEOC regulations. Thorough documentation for what might appear to be simple changes should be required from managers and supervisors, when dealing with an employee in a protected class. Managers who have questions about whether or not an action would be construed as workplace retaliation should work closely with human resources or consult with employment law attorneys.

Resources:
EEOC
Wicked Local Cambridge