EEO Reprisal in the Federal Workplace: Lessons From the Trenches

According to the EEOC, retaliation is the #1 complaint among feds, continuing an upward trend in reprisal claims since FY07. Get an insider’s guidance to keep your agency from adding to the count!

Respected federal trainer and consultant Roslyn Brown spent more than 30 years in federal EEO, including time as an EEOC investigator. She’ll draw from this experience to walk you through all the types of conduct that could constitute protected EEO activity and the many forms retaliation can take – so you make the connection between EEO activity and agency conduct that may be considered retaliatory. And, through examples from the latest EEOC rulings and case law, you’ll learn how retaliation can occur — valuable lessons that all of your agency’s managers should learn.

You’ll gain guidance not only to address retaliation claims – but to avoid them as well – as Ms. Brown explains:

• The statutes that prohibit retaliation
• What activity is protected: opposition and participation
• Elements of a retaliation claim
• Adverse treatment and the broad view taken by the EEOC and the courts
• The human side of being named in a retaliation complaint

Plus, you’ll take away specific strategies to:

• Assess if there is a nexus between protected EEO activity and an agency's adverse action
• Pinpoint what managers should avoid doing and saying once an EEO complaint is filed
• Avoid actions that could be considered reprisal even in the absence of intent
• Continue “managing” employees who have filed EEO complaints, holding them accountable for following agency rules and conduct standards
• And more!