Retaliation Claims by Employees Soar

Retaliation claims by employees have soared over the past two years—up 18 percent— and are the fasted growing of discrimination charge filed with the EEOC.

Making matters worse is a recent US Supreme Court ruling which hands the plaintiff’s bar another attractive avenue and vastly higher stakes for filing these claims – when connected to claims of race discrimination.

The ruling allows an employee four years to file the claim, instead of 180 days.

That’s not all. Employees can go directly to court, bypassing the EEOC filing requirements and review. Plus, claims can be filed against employers with fewer than 15 workers, which are normally exempt.

If all that is not bad enough, there is no cap on compensatory or punitive damages that can be awarded. Previously, caps had been about $300,000 depending on the size of the company.

Understanding what constitutes retaliation in light of this case, CBOCS v. Humphries, is critical to everyone in the workplace.