2014 EEOC Summary and Increased Rates of Retaliation

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently published its data and summary of legal action taken during the 2014 legal year, including details regarding the nearly 88,000 charges of workplace discrimination. According to the reports, the percentage of charges alleging retaliation has reached their highest amount in history at 42.8 percent.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently published its data and summary of legal action taken during the 2014 legal year, including details regarding the nearly 88,000 charges of workplace discrimination. According to the reports, the percentage of charges alleging retaliation has reached their highest amount in history at 42.8 percent. The high rate of retaliation could signal that more employees have identified retaliation as an additional offense, or indicate that more employers are taking retaliatory action to curb the reporting of misconduct.

For many employees, it can be difficult to identify retaliation or understand when your employer has committed retaliation. If you have been targeted after reporting discrimination or other misconduct, it is important to know your rights.  Here are some examples of common retaliation strategies:

• Verbal abuse or threats: Some employees who have suffered from retaliation have been targets of verbal abuse and threats by management. Intimidation and other non-verbal abuse, including by email, voicemail, or texts, could be considered retaliation. Victims of retaliation have suffered abuse from co-workers and colleagues, as well as their superiors and upper management.
• Denied promotion or raise: If you were suddenly stripped of a promotion or denied a raise after reporting misconduct, you may be a victim of retaliation.
• Demotion or pay cut: Statistics show that 46% of those who suffered from retaliation were demoted or given a pay cut after reporting misconduct. A demotion could take the form of a title change, pay cut, or a loss of hours or shifts.
• Termination or the threat of job loss: One of the most common forms of retaliation is termination or the threat of termination by a superior. Losing a job for reporting discrimination or other employment law violations is illegal.

If you believe you are a victim of discrimination or retaliation, our attorneys at Wanta Thome PLC want to hear from you. Please call (612) 252-3570 for more information or to learn about your employee rights under federal and Minnesota State law.