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Hawaii Retaliation

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A friend of mine, “Mimi”, is going through a very difficult time at work. She went to HR several months ago and complained because her supervisor was discriminating against her. HR decided to eliminate her position for economic reasons. She was given a choice between severance pay or a position in a different department. Isn’t this illegal?

Federal laws prohibit retaliation. If Mimi’ employer fired her as a result of her making a discrimination complaint, that could constitute retaliation, which is illegal.

Several federal laws prohibit employers from discriminating against workers. These laws include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prevents companies from discriminating based on a worker’s race, sex, country of origin, religion or color. Additional laws protect workers against discrimination due to disability and age (over 40). The federal statutes also mandate that companies can not retaliate against workers who file discrimination complaints. This means the company can not fire, or transfer the worker out of the job.

To illustrate, consider that Mimi goes to her HR department and files a discrimination complaint against her supervisor, because he requires a doctor’s note every time she’s absent. The HR department instigates an investigation into the complaint, which finds that Mimi’ supervisor requires all of his workers to provide a doctor’s note. Mimi is not being discriminated against, so her complaint is invalid. HR informs Mimi of the results of the investigation, and the case is closed.

At this point, if the company takes negative action against Mimi, such as changing her position or terminating her, that act could be considered retaliation. Mimi could file a retaliation complaint with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). The EEOC would probably demand documentation from the employer that it planned to transfer or fire Mimi prior to her filing the complaint. If the company can not provide this documentation, Mimi could get her job back.

There is one exception to the above rule. If Mimi’ intent when filing the complaint was to commit fraud, then the law no longer applies.

In the scenario described, however, it seems as though Mimi filed the complaint in good faith. If she feels the company has retaliated against her, she can contact the EEOC about filing a retaliation complaint. The phone number for the EEOC is 800-669-4000. JH