Legal Definitions - retaliation

Retaliation occurs when an individual or entity takes a negative action against another person because that person engaged in a legally protected activity. It is essentially an act of punishment or payback for something someone had a legal right to do.

While the general concept of retaliation can apply in various situations, it has specific legal meanings in different contexts:

• In Employment Law: Retaliation happens when an employer punishes an employee for exercising a legal right related to their employment. These rights often involve reporting discrimination, harassment, unsafe working conditions, or wage violations. The punishment, known as an "adverse employment action," can include demotion, reduction in pay, undesirable shift changes, denial of promotion, or even termination. For an action to be considered illegal retaliation, the employer must have known about the employee's protected activity and taken the adverse action because of it.

  • Example 1 (Workplace Safety): An employee, Sarah, works at a manufacturing plant. She notices a critical piece of machinery is malfunctioning, posing a serious safety risk. After her internal complaints to management are ignored, she reports the issue to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). A week after OSHA begins an investigation, Sarah is suddenly transferred to the night shift, given less desirable tasks, and told her performance is "under review" despite a previously excellent record. This illustrates retaliation because Sarah engaged in a legally protected activity by reporting a safety violation to a government agency, and her employer's subsequent negative actions appear to be a direct punishment for her complaint.

  • Example 2 (Discrimination Complaint): David, a marketing manager, files a formal complaint with his company's HR department, alleging that he was passed over for a promotion due to age discrimination. Shortly after HR concludes its investigation (finding no discrimination), David is removed from a high-profile project he was leading and replaced by a less experienced colleague. His manager also starts assigning him only minor, less impactful tasks. This demonstrates potential retaliation because David exercised his legally protected right to report perceived discrimination, and the employer's subsequent actions of removing him from a key project and assigning him less significant work appear to be in response to his complaint.

• In Landlord-Tenant Law: This often refers to "retaliatory eviction," where a landlord attempts to evict a tenant, raise their rent, or reduce services because the tenant exercised a legal right, such as reporting housing code violations to authorities or joining a tenants' union.

  • Example 3 (Housing Code Violation): Maria lives in an apartment building and discovers a persistent leak in her ceiling, leading to mold growth. She repeatedly informs her landlord, who fails to address the issue. Maria then contacts the local housing authority to report the unaddressed health hazard. The following month, her landlord serves her with an eviction notice, claiming she violated a minor clause in her lease that had previously been overlooked for other tenants. This illustrates retaliatory eviction because Maria engaged in a legally protected activity by reporting a housing code violation, and the landlord's subsequent eviction notice, coming shortly after her complaint, suggests an act of retaliation for her protected action.