Page 21 - An Indispensible Resource for Being a Credible Activist

❱❱ RETALIATION AS DEFINED BY THE EEOC

Per the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC),

An employer may not fire, demote, harass or otherwise ‘retaliate’ against an individual
for filing a charge of discrimination, participating in a discrimination proceeding, or
otherwise opposing discrimination. The same laws that prohibit discrimination based
on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, and disability, as well as wage differ-
ences between men and women performing substantially equal work, also prohibit
retaliation against individuals who oppose unlawful discrimination or participate in an
employment discrimination proceeding.

In addition to the protections against retaliation that are included in all of the laws
enforced by EEOC, the ADA also protects individuals from coercion, intimidation, threat,
harassment, or interference in their exercise of their own rights or their encouragement of
someone else’s exercise of rights granted by the ADA, now the ADAAA (Americans with
Disability Act Amendments Act.
Three main terms are used to describe retaliation. Retaliation occurs when an employer,
employment agency, or labor company takes an adverse action against a covered individ-
ual because he or she engaged in a protected activity. These three terms are described in
the following as per the EEOC.

Adverse action. An adverse action is an action taken to try to keep someone from
opposing a discriminatory practice, or from participating in an employment
discrimination proceeding. Examples of adverse actions include employment actions
such as termination, refusal to hire, and denial of promotion; other actions affecting
employment such as threats; unjustified negative evaluations, or references; or
increased surveillance. Additionally, any other action such as an assault or unfounded
civil or criminal charges that are likely to deter reasonable people from pursuing their
rights would be classified as an adverse action. Adverse actions do not include petty
slights and annoyances, such as stray negative comments in an otherwise positive or
neutral evaluation, “snubbing” a colleague, or negative comments that are justified by
an employee’s poor work performance or history.
Even if the prior protected activity alleged wrongdoing by a different employer, retalia-
tory adverse actions are unlawful. For example, it is unlawful for a worker’s current employer
to retaliate against him or her for pursuing an EEO charge against a former employer.
Of course, employees are not excused from continuing to perform their jobs or
follow their company’s legitimate workplace rules just because they have filed a
complaint with the EEOC or opposed discrimination.
Covered individuals. Covered individuals are people who have opposed unlawful
practices, participated in proceedings, or requested accommodations related to

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