Human Resource Blog

Retaliation in Virginia

	Hiring and Staffing
Complete Business Forms Kit CD Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Employment Application Long Form Substance Testing Consent Form Pre-Employment Reference and Background Check Employment Offer/Acknowledgment Receipt of Employee Handbook New Hire Survey

	HR Management
Confidential Employee Folder Confidential Employee Medical Folder Job File Worksheet Folder Daily EEO Applicant Flow Log Workplace Information Sheets Request to Inspect Personnel Files

	Labor Laws
Complete State & Federal Labor Law Posters 1 Year Compliance Protection Plan State ONLY Labor Law Posters Federal Labor Law Posters

	Performance Management
Performance Appraisal Review Employee Performance Evaluation Form Performance Improvement Plan Employee Warning Notice Employee Counseling Report Employee Final Warning Notice

	Termination
Employee Warning Notice Employee Final Warning Notice Employee Resignation Form Exit Interview Questionnaire Separation Checklist

	Workplace Management
Attendance Organizer for 2008, 2009, or 2010 Employee Warning Notice Employee Counseling Report Performance Improvement Plan Employee Performance Evaluation Form Employee Final Warning Notice Separation Checklist Harassment Prevention Kit

We were recently informed that one of our employees in Virginia has filed a discrimination complaint, which the EEOC finally ruled was invalid. Are we justified in firing the employee?

A resounding NO is the answer to that question. It is unquestionably illegal. It goes against the laws established under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. You as an employer must not come up with an excuse to fire or otherwise retaliate against a worker simply because she has made complaints to your Human Resources office or to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Title VII protects workers from discrimination based on race, color, sex, creed, or national origin. It also protects workers who make good-faith complaints about discrimination. Companies have been known to retaliate against workers who make such complaints. What if it were legal to do so? Then employees would be afraid to file those complaints, and workplace discrimination would continue.

At another level, retaliation can be costly. Consider the case of a company that the EEOC found was discriminating against African-American, Hispanic and Asian employees at its plants in Rockton and Rockford, Illinois. The company, known as Woodward Governor, is based in Fort Collins, Colorado. As a result of the case, Woodward Governor had to pay $5 million. Fortunately, it had retained its complainant workers at the two plants. If the company had retaliated, the costs it would have faced could have been far greater.

The case against Woodward Governor involved two lawsuits. The first was race-based, filed in 2003, and grew out of a 2002. Complaint. The second, gender-based, was filed in 2006. Both were settled recently.

Employers have been known to practice all kinds of retaliation. It might involve changing the job duties of a worker who has filed a complaint. It might involve demotion. It could involve changing her working conditions. The company may persuade other workers to start a no-talk campaign against her, or to shun her in other ways. Failure to pay a deserved pay hike or to make a promotion are other techniques used. All are illegal.