Retaliated Against For Filing A Harassment Complaint?

Were you fired, demoted, harassed or retaliated against for filing a complaint about discrimination or harassment in your workplace? Here’s what you should do if facing retaliation from your supervisors.

It is illegal, under federal law, for a company, supervisor, or coworker to retaliate against an employee for complaining about harassment or discrimination in the workplace.

Discrimination is a form of harassment that can occur in the workplace when employees are treated differently based on personal characteristics or protected statuses. Harassment is illegal when it is pervasive and severe. The conduct must be intimidating, creating a hostile or threatening work environment that interferes with an employee’s ability to perform their job in the workplace.  

If an employee:

1. Complains about the harassment/discrimination;
2. Files a formal complaint;
3. or, Protests unlawful discrimination;

It is illegal for a company, supervisor or coworker to retaliate and:

1. Terminate the employee;
2. Move the employee to a positions, shifts, or assignments that are less favorable;
3. Provides negative evaluations;
4. or, Escalate the original harassment/discrimination;

The recourse an employee has is to file a retaliation claim with their human resources department or the EEOC.

The federal laws that protect employees from discrimination include:

1. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: This law prohibits discrimination based on race, color, sex, pregnancy, national origin, and religion.
2. Age Discrimination in Employment Act: This law makes it illegal for companies to discriminate against people for their age (40+).
3. Americans with Disabilities Act: This law prohibits discrimination based on disability.

For information about how to formally file a complaint, click here to go to the EEOC website.