Helpful Legal Information
Retaliation and Wrongful Termination
It Is Illegal For An Employer To Retaliate Against An Employee
An employer cannot retaliate against you for raising claims of discrimination or harassment. To establish retaliation, several factors are required. First, the employee must have engaged in some type of protected activity, such as complaining of discriminatory or harassing treatment, illegal activities in the company (i.e., whistle blowing), or assisting another employee in a complaint, among other things. Second, the employer must have taken some adverse action against the employee, such as demotion or termination. If the employer is able to articulate a legitimate basis for their decision regarding the employee's position (i.e., demotion or termination), it is for the employee to establish that those proffered reasons are untrue and pre textual. That the real reason was, at least in part, retaliation for the employee having engaged in the protected activity.
As stated above, whistle blowing is a protected activity. More specifically, an employer who fires or demotes or otherwise penalizes an employee who reported illegal or improper activity by that employer faces liability for damages caused to the employer plus punitive damages. An employee has the right to report illegal conduct without repercussions from his employer.
If any adverse employment action is taken against you because you have made a complaint or cooperated with another employee making a complaint, the employer is subject to liability for violations of Title VII and state law. This is true whether or not the discrimination or harassment complaint is found to be valid.
Complain to Management
Be aware that you also have a responsibility to inform your employer of the retaliatory treatment, whenever possible (usually does not apply if retaliatory treatment is termination). Doing so is important as the law requires that the employer investigate all claims of retaliation and take immediate and appropriate action to remedy the situation. If the employer is not made aware of the retaliatory treatment, a court may not find them liable for the conduct of their employees. For more information see Employer Investigation .
Complaining of Retaliatory Treatment to the Federal and State Authorities
Before any lawsuit can be filed against an employer harassment, discrimination or retaliation, an employee must file a complaint with either the federal or state authority charged with investigating such complaints [For more information, see Complain to State and/or Federal Agency]. This is designed to give the employer time to remedy their conduct prior to being sued. In many cases, it is simply a formality that must be taken care of prior to a lawsuit.
The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is the state agency which investigates complaints of violations of state employment discrimination laws. The DFEH has offices throughout the state. Below are the addresses of several DFEH offices in the Northern California/Bay Area:
| DFEH 1330 Broadway, #1326 Oakland, CA (510) 622-2941 |
DFEH 30 Van Ness Ave., #300 San Francisco, CA 94102 (800) 884-1684 |
DFEH 111 No. Market St., #810 San Jose, CA 95113 (408) 277-1277 |
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the federal agency which investigates complaints of violations of federal civil rights law (Title VII) in employment. The EEOC has offices throughout the country. Below are the addresses of several EEOC offices in the Northern California/Bay Area:
| EEOC 901 Market St., #500 San Francisco, CA 94103 (415) 356-5100 |
EEOC 1301 Clay St., #1170 Oakland, CA 94612 (510) 637-3230 |
EEOC 96 N. Third St. Ste. 200 San Jose, Ca. 95112 (408) 291-4231 |
File Suit
If your complaint goes nowhere, You can still Strike Back In Court. The complaint process both within companies and through the federal and state agencies charged to investigate complaints often leaves employees empty-handed and feeling that justice was not done. This is often our law firm's experience when we attempt to get a company or an agency to investigate a case of discrimination. It can be a frustrating and disappointing exercise.
But thankfully the law does give you the right to go to court.
Both Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the state Fair Employment and Housing Act give employees a right to sue an employer for violations of their rights. If violations of the law are shown, the employee's recovery may include his/her past lost wages and benefits, future wage loss, the attorneys fees and punitive damages. Punitive damages are calculated in part on the earnings of the company. Our lawyers can help.
If you believe you have taken all the necessary steps and are still unsatisfied with the result, please complete and submit to us a Case Submission Questionnaire. If your case is accepted for review, one of our attorneys will contact you about your case.