Human Resource Blog

Retaliation in North Carolina

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My boss wants me to fire a troublemaker who has made several discrimination complaints with the EEOC and Human Resources. Can I do that?

Probably not. Your question sounds like the only reason that you would have for firing this employee is that she has made several discrimination complaints. If that is true, this is retaliation, which is in itself a type of discrimination Title VII of the Civil Rights act, as well as laws in several states, forbid retaliation. It is illegal, as long as the complaints were made in good faith – meaning the employee actually believed that she had a case, and wasn’t trying to defraud you or the EEOC.

These or any other forms of retaliation are illegal. Imagine what would happen if they were not. The purpose of Title VII is to eliminate racial and other forms of discrimination. If employers could retaliate with impunity, workers would be afraid to file Title VII complaints through the EEOC, and there would be no end to workplace discrimination.

If by chance you have another, valid reason to fire this employee, I would be very, very careful to document every step of the process.

However, retaliation can be costly as well as illegal. 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.

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. JH