Articles Posted in Retaliation

HR professionals do not have a crystal ball. When an employee files an EEOC charge, no employer can predict how that dispute might later be reframed in a lawsuit or expanded with new legal theories.

A recent Fourth Circuit decision recognizes that reality, while still reinforcing something practical for employers and HR teams alike: the EEOC charge plays a meaningful role in defining the case that follows. Continue reading

Sometimes retaliation isn’t loud. There’s no demotion, no firing, no pay cut. It shows up quietly instead – more work than everyone else gets, repeated just often enough to send a message.

That kind of retaliation can be harder to spot, but as a recent decision out of the District of Columbia shows, it can still land an employer in serious trouble. Continue reading

Employers often assume that launching an investigation is a safe harbor.

The Tenth Circuit just delivered a reminder that when decisionmakers rely on a flawed investigation, the process can matter as much as the decision itself.

TL;DR: The Tenth Circuit revived two Title VII retaliation claims after a physician reported alleged sexual harassment by another doctor and was later terminated and reported to a state licensing board. Although an investigation alone is rarely actionable retaliation, the court held a jury could find that a one-sided internal investigation – including skipped interviews, selective fact-gathering, and uncritical reliance by senior decisionmakers – supplied the retaliatory animus and causation for materially adverse actions under a cat’s paw theory.

Some workplace retaliation theories sound plausible at first glance. But Title VII’s protections are far narrower than many employees assume. A recent Eleventh Circuit decision digs into a niche but important point: whether a criminal subpoena can qualify as Title VII “participation.”

This is part one of two. Tomorrow, we look at the court’s take on whether two unwanted physical encounters created a hostile work environment. Continue reading

A discrimination complaint can be genuine without being legally protected.
An employee learned that the hard way when her retaliation claim flatlined before it even got to trial.

A magistrate judge in a federal court recently reminded employers that even a sincere complaint has to be objectively reasonable before it triggers retaliation protection under Title VII. Continue reading