Retaliation

Check for possible retaliation before approving discipline

04/17/2023

Before approving a termination, always review the case details. Be on the lookout for signs that the action might be motivated by a supervisor’s attempt to retaliate against the employee.

No retaliation ever for invoking FMLA rights—even if employee may be ineligible

02/16/2023

The 6th Circuit revived the FMLA retaliation claim of an attorney fired immediately after she requested unpaid leave to care for her two-year-old child at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

OK to discipline worker who filed complaint

01/24/2023

Make sure your organization’s supervisors understand that it’s perfectly legal to impose legitimate discipline on an employee who has filed a harassment or discrimination complaint.

New York state will bar retaliation against workers who take legally protected time off

12/15/2022

The law appears to focus on “points-based” attendance, in which employers impose points, or demerits, on employees for absences, often without regard for the reason for the absence—including medical reasons, which can be protected under the FMLA and other laws.

Court revives claim of HR manager

12/15/2022

A week after an HR manager testified in a lawsuit against a former employer, she was fired. The HR manager then sued the employer who fired her for unlawful retaliation, a violation of Title VII.

Employer must pay whistleblower $22 million

12/02/2022

Don’t shoot the messenger! That’s the lesson the Occupational Safety and Health Administration taught employer Wells Fargo in a recent whistleblower retaliation case. Wells Fargo has been ordered to pay $22 million to an internal whistleblower who raised concerns that the bank may have been engaged in illegal practices.

Sexual harassment and retaliation at funeral home

11/17/2022

A mortuary will pay $135,000 to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit. The EEOC sued on behalf of female employees who alleged the owner made crude sexual comments.

EEOC sues Red Robin for sexual harassment and retaliation

10/20/2022

Red Robin International, Inc. violated federal law when it allowed a male line cook to sexually harass female employees despite repeated notice of such unlawful behavior and retaliated against them for complaining.

Replace supervisor to prevent retaliation

10/06/2022

You can stop a harassment case from escalating into a retaliation lawsuit with one simple tactic. Replace the supervisor who allegedly harassed the complaining subordinate and don’t let him or her know anything about the prior complaint.

Retaliation case equals $22 million price tag

09/29/2022

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration ruled that Wells Fargo violated the whistleblower protection provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for improperly terminating a Chicago area-based senior manager in the company’s commercial banking segment.