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FAQ: What are the elements of Unlawful Retaliation in WA State?
answer:
“To establish a prima facie case of [unlawful] retaliation, an employee must show that[:]
(1) he or she engaged in a statutorily protected activity,
(2) the employer took an adverse employment action against the employee, and
(3) there is a causal connection between the employee‘s activity and the employer‘s adverse action.
Mackey v. Home Depot USA, Inc., 12 Wn.App.2d 557, 574 (Div. 2 2020), review denied, 468 P.3d 616 (2020) (citing Cornwell v. Microsoft Corp., 192 Wn.2d 403, 411, 430 P.3d 229 (2018)) (emphasis, paragraph formatting, and hyperlinks added).
THE WASHINGTON LAW AGAINST DISCRIMINATION
Unlawful Retaliation is a theory of liability under the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), Chapter 49.60 RCW. The WLAD “prohibits retaliation against a party asserting a claim based on a perceived violation of his civil rights or participating in an investigation into alleged workplace discrimination.” Alonso v. Qwest Communications Company, LLC, 178 Wn.App 734, 753 (Div. 2 2013) (citing RCW 49.60.210).
WLAD REMEDIES
“Any person deeming himself or herself injured by any act in violation of … [WLAD] shall have a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin further violations, or to recover the actual damages sustained by the person, or both, together with the cost of suit including reasonable attorneys’ fees or any other appropriate remedy authorized by this chapter or the United States Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended, or the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 3601 et seq.).” RCW 49.60.030(2).
READ OUR RELATED ARTICLES
We invite you to read more of our blog articles concerning this topic:
Adverse Employment Actions: A Closer Look
Definition of Prima Facie Case*
Employment-Discrimination Hotlines & Unlawful Retaliation
The McDonnell Douglas Burden Shifting Framework*
The Prima Facie Case: Unlawful Retaliation
Top 3 Reasons Unlawful Retaliation Claims Fail
Top 3 Causation Standards: Unlawful Retaliation
Unlawful Retaliation: Adverse Employment Action
Unlawful Retaliation and the Prospective Employer
Unlawful Retaliation: The Actual-Knowledge Standard
Unlawful Retaliation: The Causal Link
Unlawful Retaliation: The Functionally-Similar Test
Unlawful Retaliation: Statutorily Protected Activity
*(NOTE: This is an external link that will take the reader to our Williams Law Group Blog.)
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