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For workplace safety and health, please call 800-321-6742; for mine safety and health, please call 800-746-1553; for Job Corps, please call 800-733-5627 and for Wage and Hour, please call 1-866-487-9243 (1 866-4-US-WAGE).  This website is currently not being updated due to the suspension of Federal government services. The last update to the site was 10/1/2025.  Updates to the site will start again when the Federal government resumes operations.

Protection From Retaliation

What is retaliation?

Retaliation occurs when an employer (including through a manager, supervisor, administrator, or possibly other persons) fires an employee or takes any other type of adverse action against an employee for engaging in protected activity.

An adverse action is any action which could dissuade a reasonable employee from raising a concern about a possible violation or engaging in other related protected activity. Retaliation can have a negative impact on overall employee morale.

What can reporting retaliation do?

Reporting retaliation could lead to an order from an agency or court requiring an employer to stop engaging in retaliation. Reporting retaliation may help workers recover wages owed, monetary damages, and/or other remedies that can help make a worker whole after retaliation.

Miners have additional protections under the Mine Act

Federal law protects miners from retaliation for exercising their rights under the Mine Act. You may not be fired, demoted, harassed, intimidated, transferred, refused employment, suffer any loss of wages, or discriminated against for exercising your rights. No person may interfere with your exercise of protected rights.

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Workers

Federal law provides protection from retaliation when you exercise your right to:

You have a right to be protected from retaliation regardless of your immigration status.

You have a right to file a complaint and report retaliation.

Learn more about your rights against retaliation and how to file a complaint

Federal law protects miners from retaliation for exercising their rights under the Mine Act. You may not be fired, demoted, harassed, intimidated, transferred, refused employment, suffer any loss of wages, or discriminated against for exercising your rights. No person may interfere with your exercise of protected rights.

Learn more about your protections from retaliation rights as a miner

 

 

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Employers

You have a responsibility to not retaliate against employees for engaging in protected activity under the federal employment laws. In general, this means that you can’t take adverse actions, such as:

  • firing,

  • rejecting for a job or promotion,

  • giving lesser assignments,

  • forcing to take leave, or

  • otherwise negatively altering the terms and conditions of employment for an individual

because they complained about discrimination (whether the alleged discrimination was directed at them or another employee), or otherwise engaged in protected activity, or for taking an action that could dissuade a reasonable employee from raising a concern about a possible violation or engaging in other related protected activity because they complained about discrimination, whether the alleged discrimination was directed at them or another employee.

You may discipline or fire an employee if there is a non-retaliatory and non-discriminatory reason that would otherwise result in such consequences. However, you aren’t allowed to do anything in response to an activity that would discourage someone else from resisting or complaining about discrimination.

Learn more about your responsibility not to retaliate and employee protected activities