Phase 3 of 3 · Hard Conversations
Retaliation
Unlawful punishment of a person for opposing discrimination, joining a complaint, using workers' compensation, or taking another protected step.
Separate the protected activity from the decision, and prove the same action would have occurred without it.
In plain English
Retaliation is treating someone worse because they used a protected right, even when the original complaint might not succeed.
- What it looks like in business
- A supervisor wants someone gone the week after a wage complaint. HR compares the timing with earlier records and tests whether the stated reason would have happened anyway.
- Why it matters
- Sudden discipline, hostile comments, and shifting explanations can make a lawful decision look retaliatory, or reveal that it is.
Reading it once is not the same as knowing it. Put this term in the daily rotation and let the quiz come back for it.
Study this termWhere this comes from
42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3; Tex. Lab. Code Ch. 21; Tex. Lab. Code § 451.001
This is HR guidance, not legal advice, and rules change. Check the current text and your own facts before you act on it. When a situation needs a lawyer, Jennifer will say so.
Where it sits
Phase 3: Hard Conversations
A fair process for performance, complaints, accommodations, and exits so the owner is not both the boss and the only adult in the room.