Recent
news has reflected that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) has been successful in retaliation claims against
employers. In 2019 so far, the EEOC has won over $775,000 for
employees in retaliation and sexual harassment lawsuits.
What
Does This Mean for You
Per
federal law, an employer may not fire, demote, harass, or
otherwise retaliate against an individual for filing a charge of
discrimination, participating in a discrimination proceeding, or
otherwise opposing discrimination.
Despite
this, retaliation claims are historically the most common workplace
discrimination claims. Employers should take the following steps
to protect themselves from retaliation and other discrimination
claims:
- Create a clear anti-retaliation
policy that includes specific examples of what management
can and cannot do when disciplining or terminating
employees.
- Provide training to
management and employees on anti-retaliation and other
discrimination policies.
- Implement a user-friendly
internal complaint procedure for employees.
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