RETALIATION

WHEN IS RETALIATION PROHIBITED?

It unlawful to retaliate against a person “because the person has opposed any practices forbidden under the Fair Employment and Housing Act ("FEHA") or because the person has ﬁled a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under FEHA. There must be a causal link between the retaliatory animus and the adverse action.

For example, it would be unlawful for an employer to terminate an employee after the employee raises a complaint of sexual harassment if it can be shown that the termination was due to the complaint.

It is also illegal to retaliate against or otherwise discriminate against a person for requesting an accommodation for

religious practice or disability, regardless of whether the request was granted.

RETALIATION MAY BE ESTABLISHED EVEN IF THE EMPLOYEE RESIGNS

Retaliation in violation of the FEHA may be established by constructive discharge; that is, that the employer intentionally created or knowingly permitted working conditions to exist that were so intolerable that a reasonable person in the employee’s position would have had no reasonable alternative other than to resign.