The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has taken an expansive position on the protection given to persons who make internal complaints about discrimination in bad faith in updated guidance on retaliation law. Under a retaliation theory, individuals have legal redress if an employer takes a material adverse action against an individual for opposing discrimination or for filing a charge of discrimination with the EEOC, or helping other with such efforts. While the guidance is the EEOC’s interpretation of the law, which may or may not be accepted by any particular court, many of the points made by the EEOC in its updated guidance are widely accepted by the courts. In addition, EEOC investigators will no doubt follow the guidance when evaluating charges filed with the agency. For additional information, see https://www.jacksonlewis.com/publication/updated-eeoc-retaliation-guidance-suggests-scrutiny-internal-investigation-practices.
United States