Each year the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission  processes workers’ complaints filed against employers. EEOC’s most recent statistics show that retaliation is the number one worker complaint, numbering nearly half of all charges filed.

The breakdown of 2015 worker complaints filed looked like this:

• Retaliation: 39,757 (44.5% of all charges filed)
• Race: 31,027 (34.7%)
• Disability: 26,968 (30.2%)
• Sex: 26,396 (29.5%)
• Age: 20,144 (22.5%)
• National Origin: 9,438 (10.6%)
• Religion: 3,502 (3.9%)
• Color: 2,833 (3.2%)
• Equal Pay Act: 973 (1.1%)
• Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act: 257 (0.3%)

The EEOC defines retaliation as an adverse action committed against a covered individual for engaging in a protected activity. An adverse action can include threats, an unjustified poor review, withheld promotion or raise, or termination without truthful cause. A covered individual is an employee who complains about an illegal practice, requests an accommodation to which they are entitled by law, or someone in close association (such as a spouse) who does these things. A protected activity includes filing a complaint, threatening to file, protesting an illegal practice, or requesting a workplace modification (such as a disabled person’s accessible restroom). A protected activity might also include requesting accommodation based on religious beliefs.

Retaliation is an act that interferes with the worker’s ability to perform their job properly or results in financial harm, including a firing. The definition does not extend to minor annoyances that may be expressed by co-workers as a result of an employee’s actions. Retaliation is meant to interfere with the legal process, or chill the worker’s protected activity, and is itself illegal.

Every employee has the right to call upon government agencies that enforce employment laws. If a worker files a complaint and then faces consequences for complaining, the law is offended. Both employers and workers need to understand that retaliation, whether by co-workers or employers, is unlawful and must be eradicated from the workplace. That is the public policy promise of both the U.S. and New Jersey legal systems.

If you are involved in a battle against discrimination and/or retaliation at work, you need a lawyer. Call the offices of Hanan M. Isaacs, P.C. to speak to an experienced employment law attorney about your case. We will set up a near-term appointment that is confidential and set at a reduced fee. Call 609-683-7400 or contact us online today to schedule a consultation at our Central Jersey offices.