HOME    ABOUT US     SERVICES    FAQ's    TESTIMONIALS    CONTACT US      American Risk Managers News View All News Items Employer Retaliation - Wednesday, October 07, 2009 at 13:39 Employer retaliation claims occur when an employee alleges discrimination based on protected status (gender, race, etc.) and, in retaliation for making such an allegation the employee is treated unfavorably (demoted, etc.). An employer retaliation claim must prove 3 things: (1) the employee engaged in a “protected activity”, (2) the employee suffered an “adverse action”, and (3) there was a casual connection between the adverse action and the protected activity. The EEOC is seeing a surge of retaliation claims. According to Advisen claims including a retaliation charge rose 23% in the year ended September 30, 2008. That is more than a third of all claims filed. Discrimination is often harder to prove than retaliation, therefore employers are often charged with both. In 2006, the Supreme Court redefined “materially adverse” action, making it harder to defend retaliation claims. Employment Practices Liability (EPL) policies cover employer retaliation. Retaliation claims have also been made in connection with workers’ compensation claims. Employees filing work comp claims have sued employer’s alleging some form of adverse action was taken against them in response to filing the work comp claim.