Retaliation/Reprisal Claims
NOTE: The District of Columbia Human Rights Act (DCHRA) allows a woman to file a complaint with the D.C. Office of Human Rights (DCOHR) or pursue a private lawsuit. You can assume that the explanation of the DCHRA is the same regardless of which procedure you choose, except where it is noted that they differ. What is retaliation or reprisal, and how do I prove it? To prove a claim of retaliatory discharge against your employer you must show all of the following:
1) you engaged in a protected activity;
2) your employer took adverse employment action against you; and 3) the two were related (causal connection). The DCHRA also recognizes "constructive retaliatory discharge" as a form of illegal retaliation when you have not been fired, but your employer has deliberately made your working conditions intolerable. For what reasons can I be fired? The District of Columbia is an "at will" employment jurisdiction, meaning that your employer can fire you at any time and for any reason that does not contradict a recognized public policy or overtly discriminate. What is "protected conduct"? "Protected conduct" refers to conduct which you can engage in and your employer is not allowed to retaliate against you in response. All complaints made in good faith to the DCOHR concerning the possibility that your employer may be engaging in a discriminatory activity are protected. In addition you are protected from retaliation stemming from your opposition to employer practices that are prohibited by the DCHRA. How do I show that my legally protected conduct led to my discharge? Under the statute you must show a "causal connection" between your protected activity and the adverse employment action (e.g., your discharge or demotion). Evidence that your employer knew about your protected conduct before deciding to fire you is one way to do this. You may also establish the causal connection if your discharge occurred shortly after (close temporal proximity) you engaged in the protected conduct. Did my employer retaliate against me by taking an "adverse action"? To constitute "adverse action" the conduct of your employer must both go against company policy or accepted practice and have a clear negative impact on you. Must I show that my employer knew about my "protected conduct"? You must establish that a causal link existed between your protected activity and the adverse action taken against you. Evidence of employer knowledge is one way to establish this causal link, as is a close relationship in time between the protected activity and the adverse action. It can be difficult to establish that your employer definitively knew about your protected activity, but any evidence that they might have or should have known is very important. If your employer can clearly demonstrate that they did not know about the protected conduct, than whatever action they took against you cannot be "retaliatory." I've just received a warning from my employer, and I suspect I will be fired soon. What should I do? If you receive a warning from your employer, your first instinct may be to panic or even become angry. Depending on the circumstances, you should remain calm, especially since your employer may continue monitoring your work. Generally, you should begin gathering information: clarify the warning if necessary by asking your employer, get a copy of company policy on warnings/dismissals to ensure that your employer is following its own policies, talk to trusted co-workers to see if they have any insights into what they have observed in the workplace, keep track of the date/time of interactions with your employer as well as any documents that may be relevant, and, most importantly, consider whether the warning may have something to do with sex discrimination or complaining about sex discrimination. Ask yourself if your employer's warning comes on the heels of your confronting the company about sex discrimination. If so, there may be more to the warning than meets the eye. What can I do to protect any legal rights I might have before leaving my job? The easiest way to protect your legal rights before leaving your job is to document everything. Even if you initially feel as if your firing was not retaliatory or discriminatory, cover all of your bases by asking for the termination letter in writing, and saving all written warning letters. To aid in any potential claims you may have against your employer, document the dates of any decisions or actions affecting your employment, including salary or benefit increases/decreases, recommendations, and reprimands. I am being forced to leave my job. But before I go, my employer requires that I sign a document promising not to sue. Is that legal? It is not illegal for your employer to get you to sign a waiver of your right to sue as part of a severance agreement. Be conscious that you are taking a risk if you sign a waiver, as they are generally enforceable. If you have any doubts about your employer's reasons for firing you, especially if you think your employer may be retaliating or discriminating against you, you should consult with an attorney before signing anything. What could my employer do to deny my allegations, and how do I respond to their denials? Though your employer does not have to deny your allegations, it will likely try to provide a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for why you were treated differently. For example, it could deny any knowledge of the protected activity, or demonstrate that the action was consistent with company policy. To counter its response, you will need to persuade the trier of fact (i.e. the D.C. Commission on Human Rights, judge, or jury) that your employer's reason is a pretext or cover-up and that sex discrimination was the true reason. Does it matter when the discrimination occurred? To come under the protections of the DCHRA you must file a complaint within one year of the unlawful discrimination. To learn more about how to file a complaint with the DCOHR or a private lawsuit in a D.C. court, visit What Does the Law Say? If I prove my retaliation claim, what kind of remedies am I entitled to? You may be entitled to equitable relief, which is non-monetary relief intended to make you whole again, including but not limited to injunctive relief to correct your employer's discriminatory practices or reinstatement to any position that you lost as a result of discrimination. Additionally, you may be able to recover monetary relief, such as back pay to compensate you for lost earnings and front pay to compensate for a pay differential resulting from discrimination. To learn more about the remedies that you may be entitled to under the DCHRA, visit Remedies Return to Types of DiscriminationReturn to D.C. Law PageLegal GlossaryReturn to States
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