Retaliation

NLRB takes on SpaceX in retaliation case

01/12/2024

The National Labor Relations Board continues to exercise its power to regulate workplace conduct while enforcing the National Labor Relations Act. The NLRB just told SpaceX that it acted illegally when it fired eight employees for raising sexual harassment concerns. The case shows that increasingly, employees feel emboldened to speak out against what they perceive as management and CEO behavior that violates evolving workplace expectations of how business is supposed to run.

Holiday party triggers sexual hijinks? Beware harassment afterward

12/15/2023

Workplace romances or plain old carnal excess can have an adverse effect on the morale of other employees. For example, what happens when co-workers report out-of-control holiday hijinks to management? And what if the co-workers caught in flagrante delicto exact revenge on the tattletales? It just might amount to illegal retaliation.

When high-level harassment erupts, act fast to prevent even worse legal trouble

12/08/2023

Here’s a cautionary tale that offers an inevitable lesson: When a supervisor’s harassment spills out into the greater workplace, the claims will grow exponentially.

It’s up to HR: Act fast to fix supervisor gaffes

11/10/2023

Supervisors say the darndest things. It’s up to HR to clear things up before some dumb comment lands your organization in deep legal trouble. Don’t delay! If you know the boss was in the wrong, correct the record ASAP and make things right—the sooner, the better. Add a heartfelt apology on behalf of the company, too.

Sink retaliation claims by engaging an outsider to investigate bias complaints

07/20/2023

Using an outside entity to investigate internal discrimination or harassment complaints helps prevent retaliation lawsuits. That’s because there’s no reason for an outside investigator to take sides in the outcome.

Avoid retaliation lawsuits with these 4 best practices

06/15/2023

Retaliation claims brought by unhappy employees—or really, really unhappy former employees—continue to trouble employers nationwide. Here are four recommendations for setting up systems that can help prevent retaliation claims in the first place and—acknowledging that no system can prevent all such claims—at least help the organization establish and prove possible defenses to claims of retaliation that do arise.

Case of the Week: Revoking remote work privilege isn’t basis for lawsuit

06/09/2023

Employees who sue their employers for retaliation must prove that they experienced an adverse employment action. Being fired, demoted or transferred to a different location with lower pay generally qualify as adverse. But minor changes that don’t include lower pay, lost benefits or substantially different duties and responsibilities aren’t enough to justify a lawsuit.

How much could retaliation cost? Try $366 million

06/05/2023

Employees frequently sue for retaliation if they experience backlash after complaining about race discrimination at work. If the victim is punished with a pay cut, demotion, transfer to a less desirable location or termination, employers can expect a retaliation lawsuit. In cases like that, employees don’t even have to prove they experienced discrimination. They just have to prove they were punished for complaining.

Banished to a cubicle: Does isolation = retaliation?

05/17/2023

Anything that would dissuade a reasonable employee from complaining in the first place can be considered unlawful retaliation, including being isolated away from co-workers.

Whistleblower retaliation case also on Supreme Court’s docket

05/05/2023

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide what the proper standard is for proving retaliation in a Sarbanes-Oxley Act whistleblower case. Depending on the outcome, what employers must show to support disciplinary action against a whistleblower could change.