Workplace discrimination can be systemic in nature. Companies may have policies and practices that unfairly disadvantage certain groups of workers. Discrimination can also involve an employer failing to address a hostile work environment related to an employee’s protected characteristics.
Employers should not consider a worker’s protected characteristics when making employment decisions or allow others to mistreat an employee because of those characteristics. Additionally, they should not retaliate against or punish professionals who report their concerns about a hostile work environment or other forms of discrimination at work.
Despite numerous federal and state laws prohibiting retaliation, retaliation is a factor in a majority of discrimination lawsuits each year.
How common is employer retaliation?
Many cases of employer misconduct do not result in lawsuits or workers reporting what occurred to others. Employees either suffer through the mistreatment or leave and find new employment elsewhere.
However, when looking specifically at employment lawsuits evaluated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), retaliation features in a majority of the lawsuits. In 2020, the most recent year with an EEOC analysis available, 55.8% of workplace discrimination lawsuits involved claims of retaliation.
Retaliation can range from termination for reporting employment concerns to demotions and unfavorable transfers. Workers should not endure punishments for making use of their protected workplace rights, including the right to report mistreatment on the job.
Workers who believe they have experienced retaliation or who feel nervous about reporting their concerns to their employers may want to review the situation with an employment lawyer before they formally address the matter with their employers. Learning more about protections from retaliation can help employees effectively assert themselves when they’re facing unlawful discrimination or fight back after experiencing inappropriate employer retaliation.