Last month, the Supreme Court handed down a decision that raises the standard of proof for workers filing claims of retaliation against their employers.
In the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar decision, the Court specifies that the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which lowered the standard of proof for discrimination cases, was never intended to lower the standard of proof for retaliation cases.
This means that employees bringing traditional discrimination cases based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin must prove only that the employee’s protected class was a motivating factor in an adverse employment action. However, employees bringing retaliation cases must meet the more stringent “but for” test, proving the adverse employment action would not have occurred “but for” the retaliatory motivation.
The crackdown on retaliation cases isn’t completely unexpected. In the last decade the number of retaliation cases filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has skyrocketed, making them now the most common charges filed with the commission.
If you believe that you have been illegally retaliated against or if an employee has accused you of retaliation, contact a Minneapolis employment lawyer with LeBlanc Law & Mediation at 612-819-9652 to discuss your situation and how this change in standards may effect your case.
