Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Law Firm Partnership & Benefits ReportKickerFeaturesSectionsNewsLJN Newsletters

Retaliation: What is an Adverse Action?

By Debra L. Raskin and Peter Basso

It has become an increasingly common fact pattern: An employer discriminates against an employee, for example, because of her gender. She files a claim of discrimination against the employer with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In a matter of days, the employer finds out about her charges and decides to make her work life miserable. This might create a straightforward claim for unlawful retaliation, that is if the employer's actions made her life 'miserable enough.' The question of what is 'miserable enough' has divided the courts, and thus there may not be a clear answer to questions on adverse employment actions for employers or employees.

As a threshold matter, no employee can sustain a claim for retaliatory discrimination without proving that the employer took an adverse employment action against him or her, but how adverse must an adverse action be? Certainly, some adverse actions will be 'no brainers,' such as firing. But what if, in response to the employee's charge before the EEOC, the employer docks the employee's salary? Or reassigns the employee to a less prestigious job? Or moves him or her from the fancy corner office to a room in the basement facing the boiler?

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs Image

A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.

Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners Image

Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.

Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits Image

In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.

Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?