Retaliation claims against employers have risen sharply in recent years. One way to protect your company: a thorough investigative procedure. Take this recent case:

An employee complained that his manager made racially offensive comments. The company investigated and fired the supervisor.

But about a month later, the employee was fired — according to the company, because he threatened to make up  accusations about his new boss if he didn’t approve a paid vacation request. The employee said he never made the threat.

The company fired him before conducting an investigation. He sued, claiming it was retaliation for the complaints against his former supervisor.

The primary piece of evidence against the company: an e-mail from the HR manager recommending the termination.

After saying the employee should be fired, the HR manager reminded decision-makers that the employee had recently filed a complaint about discrimination. Therefore, the employee’s lawyers claimed, the firing and the complaints were connected.

The result: Unable to fight the case in court, the company settled for $175,000.

Cite: EEOC v. Maverick Tube Corp.

Tags: e-mail, EEOC, investigation, retaliation