Unlawful Retaliation for Reporting Discrimination in Massachusetts
Protecting Your Rights: Reporting Discrimination at WorkReporting workplace discrimination is a legally protected activity under both state and federal anti-discrimination laws. If you have a reasonable, good faith belief that you've experienced workplace discrimination and you report it, your employer cannot legally retaliate against you for taking this action.
Understanding Protected ActivityProtected activity encompasses several actions, such as participating in proceedings with organizations like the EEOC or MCAD or "opposing" discrimination in your workplace. "Opposing" discrimination could involve reporting it to management or HR, assisting a colleague in making a discrimination complaint, or refusing to participate in discriminatory activities. Most often, protected activity involves either filing a formal charge of discrimination or an internal complaint to your employer.
Reporting Discrimination: The Good Faith BeliefYour report or opposition to discrimination is protected as long as you have a "reasonable, good faith belief" that the behavior is unlawful. A reasonable belief must have some basis in fact. For example, if a female employee with similar qualifications complains that a male colleague was promoted instead of her due to discrimination, this is considered a reasonable, good faith complaint.
Conversely, if a female employee lacks a required license or certification and is passed over for a promotion given to a male colleague with the necessary qualifications, this may not be a reasonable complaint due to objective evidence supporting the promotion decision. "Good faith" is somewhat subjective and fact-dependent. Raising a complaint without any factual basis and only after receiving legitimate performance-related discipline might be seen as acting in bad faith. Understanding RetaliationRetaliation refers to adverse employment actions taken against you because you reported discrimination. Not every negative action is considered "materially adverse employment action." A negative performance review alone usually isn't actionable, nor is a general sense of workplace tension. However, if these factors ultimately lead to termination or demotion, they may contribute to a larger pattern of retaliation.
Causation is another critical element. Employers often provide non-retaliatory motives for their actions, such as poor performance or strained relationships with a manager. You then have the opportunity to prove that these reasons were pretextual or just a cover for the true retaliatory motive. Proving pretext requires a fact-specific approach, and consulting an experienced attorney can help determine the likelihood of establishing the connection between protected activity and adverse employment actions. |
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Key Steps When Reporting Discrimination
- Follow Company Process: Check if your employer has a defined process for reporting discrimination. Human Resources is often a good starting point. Following established procedures effectively notifies your employer of the issue and can lead to an appropriate response.
- Document Your Report: Ensure your report is documented, even if it's just an email. Clearly identify the discrimination issue in your report, as this helps your employer understand that you're addressing potential discrimination, not just a routine workplace conflict.
- Consult an Attorney: Remember that retaliation, while illegal, can occur. Don't let this deter you from reporting unlawful behavior, but consult an employment lawyer to assess whether your experience qualifies as unlawful discrimination.
Meet Our Employment Lawyers
Emily Smith-Lee is the owner and founder of slnlaw. She is a 1996 graduate of Boston College Law School. She was previously a partner at the Boston office of a large international firm, where she worked for thirteen years before starting the firm that became slnlaw in 2009. She has been recognized as Massachusetts Superlawyer each year since 2013, and in 2018 earned recognition as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Lawyers of the Year. She has written a book on employment law: Rules of the Road, What You Need to Know About Employment Laws in Massachusetts, and helped thousands of clients on both the employee and employer side with severance and non compete review and negotiation, wage and hour, discrimination and retaliation disputes, workplace sexual harassment situations, and advice about employment law generally.
Rebecca Rogers: Rebecca is a 2006 graduate of Boston College Law School, and has worked with slnlaw since 2013. She previously worked as an intellectual property litigation attorney for Fish & Richardson in Boston, Massachusetts, and clerked for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Rebecca has helped clients with wage and hour disputes, employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, review and negotiation of severance and non compete agreements, and advice to both employees and employers about navigating complex employment situations.
Jenna Ordway: Jenna is a 2013 graduate of Quinnipiac Law School, and also earned an LLM in Taxation from Boston University in 2015. She has been affiliated with slnlaw since 2011, first as a law clerk and then as an attorney. Jenna has been recognized since 2019 as a "Rising Star" by Massachusetts Superlawyers. Jenna has helped clients with review and negotiation of severance and non compete agreements, wage and hour disputes, discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, and advice to small business owners about employment law and other business matters.
Elijah Bresley: Eli is a 2014 graduate of Seton Hall Law school, and has worked with slnlaw since 2020. He previously worked for a boutique employment law firm outside of Boston, and then for the Labor and Employment department of a large Boston firm. He also spent a year clerking for the judges of the Superior Court in Hartford, Connecticut. Eli has helped clients on the employee and employer side with all varieties of employment law issues, including employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage and hour issues, litigation in MCAD and state and federal courts, and advising employers about employment policies and practices.
Sharleen Tinnin: Sharleen is a 2010 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, and has been with slnlaw since 2023. Prior to joining slnlaw, she worked with King, Tilden, McEttrick & Brink, P.C. on complex civil litigation matters. She previously worked for the United States Department of Justice, and received an "Excellence in Justice" award in 2017. Sharleen has helped clients with wage and hour, discrimination, harassment and retaliation disputes, review and negotiation of severance agreements, and litigation in MCAD and state and federal courts on employment related issues.
How We Can Help
Our experienced employment lawyers can guide you through the process, ensuring your rights are protected when reporting discrimination at work. You can use the button below to schedule a call back from a member of our team, or give us a call at 781-784-2322.
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