OSHA’s proposed workplace violence rule: How healthcare HR can prepare now
Workplace safety
Retaliation remains top workplace discrimination complaint
An early takeaway from the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment firestorm is that his illegal behavior continued for decades because of the power he held over the alleged victims. Many of the women are now saying they were afraid to report the powerful producer’s sexual harassment for fear of retaliation. The cliché, “you’ll never work in this town again,” was a real threat.
And it’s not just the entertainment business – retaliation occurs across industries. In fact, workplace retaliation is the No. 1 discrimination complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) − comprising almost 46% of all charges in 2016.
The rise in retaliation claims and the wave of sexual harassment scandals this year serve as a high-priority reminder to organizations to take steps to prevent the likelihood of retaliation charges. If not, employers can spend millions to resolve charges of taking negative actions against individuals who speak up or complain about a potential violation.
Retaliation takes many forms
Workplace retaliation, like other types of discrimination, comes in many forms. Typically, retaliation occurs if an employer fires, demotes, reassigns, disciplines, harasses, bullies or takes other “adverse action” – like a change in job shift – against an employee for filing a complaint of discrimination or participating in an internal investigation.
Last year the EEOC revised its “Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues” for the first time since 1998. The new guidelines address retaliation as it is enforced under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Equal Pay Act (EPA) and Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).
Protected acts against retaliation
The guidelines include a list of activities by employees and job applicants that are protected against retaliation such as:
The EEOC notes that employers can still discipline or terminate workers for poor performance or misconduct after the employees have filed discrimination claims.
The agency also offers steps or “promising practices” to help employers manage the risk of retaliation violations and claims. Among the practices are these five:
Traliant Insight
With EEOC claims rising, organizations should make it a priority to minimize the risk of retaliation incidents. A good start is to implement an anti-retaliation training that clearly demonstrates to employees what retaliation is and explains the personal, legal and financial harm it causes, while encouraging them to promptly report complaints, without fearing negative consequences.