Employers may recall that last year we reported that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced a new joint initiative to raise awareness about unlawful retaliation and emphasized the three agencies’ commitment to vigorous enforcement.
In an action that certainly suggests that the EEOC is following through on this pledge, we recently ran across a federal trial court decision in which the agency took the extraordinary step of seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would have required the employer to immediately reinstate a worker who claimed she was terminated for complaining about a sexually hostile work environment. Although the EEOC did not prevail, the decision illustrates the apparent length to which agency litigators are prepared to go to in pursuing retaliation claims, even when the evidence of unlawful activity is slim at best.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.