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.

There are a few factors that likely have contributed. Experts point at least part of the finger on:

• The economy — When things go downhill, more people lose jobs and more people want the extra cash.
• The Internet — EEOC’s intake questionnaire was recently made available online, making it easier for employees to file claims.
• The telephone — In March, the agency opened a new call center that’s been able to take more claims and track better statistics.

The bottom line: Whatever the reasons, claims are up and managers need to understand that employees are more likely than ever to take their complaints to the government or their attorneys.

You can see the page here. According the homepage, “This website is being used to present evidence in an EEOC complaint, among other things.”

Also, the author says he’s heard from other employees who are interested in filing a joint lawsuit, and lists his own contact information for all the employment lawyers out there.

And the scariest part: There are several pages of articles detailing other complaints the ex-employee has with the company and some other examples of alleged misconduct.

This probably won’t become normal behavior for employees who file lawsuits, but these days, there are a number of ways current and former employees can air grievances and find an audience. With current employers, it’s possible to have a policy against mentioning the company online, but once someone quits or gets fired, there isn’t much to do.

In 2007, the number of claims rose by 9% since the previous year. In February of ’08, claims were up by 31% over the same point last year.

One thing EEOC officials say might be behind the increase is the agency’s brand new online questionnaire system. That replaces the initial phone call which used to be the first step in filing a charge.

In other words, they’ve made it easier to bring complaints against employers.

What it means for HR

That doesn’t necessarily mean more employees will win lawsuits, but companies need to be aware of the increase in charges.

The best defense: supervisor training. Managers need to understand that employees are more aware of the law and have more access to legal resources than ever before. That means they need to take training seriously in order to stay ahead of the game.