HOW DOES AN EMPLOYEE PROVE ILLEGAL RETALIATION?
An employee must show that: (1) he/she engaged in protected activity, e.g., the employee reported financial fraud or complained to management about sexual harassment or discrimination; (2) after reporting the misconduct by the employer, the employee suffered a negative employment action, e.g., termination, suspension, demotion, poor performance evaluation, or a change in duties; and (3) a causal connection exists between items 1 and 2. Courts have held that “close temporal proximity” between the employee’s protected activity and the adverse employment action can help prove a claim of retaliation.
An employee must show that: (1) he/she engaged in protected activity, e.g., the employee reported financial fraud, patient abuse, or complained to management about sexual harassment or discrimination; (2) after reporting the misconduct by the employer, the employee suffered a negative employment action, e.g., termination, suspension, demotion, poor performance evaluation, or a change in duties; and (3) a causal connection exists between items 1 and 2. Courts have held that “close temporal proximity” between the employee’s protected activity and the adverse employment action can help prove a claim of retaliation. There are a number of laws that forbid retaliation against specific groups of employees: Anti-discrimination and sexual harassment laws, health care provider laws, Sarbanes-Oxley, financial employees.
