Seattle Retaliation Lawyer
Disclaimer: The information on this website does not, and is not intended to constitute legal advice. All information on this site is for general information purposes. No reader of this site should act or refrain from acting on the basis of information provided on this site without seeking legal advice from counsel.
Ed Hones is a Seattle workplace retaliation lawyer who represents employees throughout Washington. If you were fired, demoted, disciplined, or had your hours cut after reporting discrimination or exercising a protected workplace right, Hones Law can evaluate your claim. If you believe you were a victim of retaliation, contact Hones Law for a free consultation.
Overview of retaliation law in Washington
In addition to protecting workers from discrimination and harassment, Washington’s anti-discrimination laws also protect workers that report or oppose discrimination or harassment.
Washington’s retaliation laws make it illegal for an employer to take an adverse employment action against a worker for opposing discrimination. Put simply, an employer can’t discriminate against you for reporting discrimination.
Who is protected?
Workers protected by Washington’s retaliation law are any individual employees who have opposed workplace discrimination, filed a formal complaint about discrimination, or participated in a discrimination proceeding.
What activities are protected?
Protection depends on the activity and applicable law. Opposing conduct you reasonably believe is unlawful discrimination can be protected even if the underlying complaint is not ultimately proven.
Examples of protected activity under Washington’s retaliation law are as follows:
- reporting discrimination or harassment,
- opposing discrimination or harassment,
- providing information in the investigation of discrimination or harassment,
- filing a charge of discrimination or harassment,
- testifying or assisting in a discrimination proceeding.
Retaliatory conduct (AKA adverse employment action)
If a worker engages in one of the protected activities listed above, their employer is prohibited from taking an adverse employment action against them in retaliation. Retaliation can include materially adverse actions that would deter a reasonable worker from engaging in protected activity; it is not limited to firing or a loss of pay.1 Some examples of adverse actions are as follows:
- suspension,
- reprimand,
- demotion,
- denial of promotion,
- unjustified negative performance review,
- termination.
Bottom line
If you engaged in a protected activity and your employer retaliated against you because of it, you likely have a claim of retaliation.
Table of Contents
Other types of retaliation in Washington
As detailed above, Washington’s retaliation law makes it illegal for employers to retaliate against a worker for reporting or opposing discrimination. However, other forms of retaliation are also illegal in Washington, they’re just not always called “retaliation.” For example, employers are also prohibited from terminating workers in retaliation for engaging in activities protected by public policy. For more information on public policy protections, see my page on wrongful termination in Washington
Depending on the applicable law, employee eligibility, and reporting requirements, other protected activities may include the following:
- Reporting illegal activity by employer or co-worker,
- Reporting unsafe working conditions,
- Filing a workers’ compensation claim,
- Complaining about an overtime violation,
- Requesting reasonable accommodations,
- Requesting legally protected leave,
- Whistleblowing,
- Refusing to commit illegal act,
- Performing a public duty,
- Exercising a legal right.
Can you sue for retaliation?
You may be able to sue if your employer took an unlawful adverse action because you engaged in protected activity. Retaliation laws make it illegal for an employer to take an adverse employment action against a worker for opposing discrimination or harassment.
Protection for other reports or requests depends on the applicable law and facts. For instance, an employer cannot fire an employee in retaliation for reporting illegal activity, reporting safety hazards, filing a worker’s comp claim, requesting reasonable accommodations, requesting FMLA leave, among many other protected activities.
What is the average retaliation settlement?
There is no single settlement amount that reliably predicts the value of a workplace retaliation case. But the amount of recovery is highly dependent on the facts and circumstances of the case. For instance, what was your salary? How egregious was your employer’s conduct? How strong is your evidence? The answers to these questions will impact the amount you can recover.
See my section below called “How Much Money are Retaliation Claims Worth” to learn more about the breakdown of damages in a retaliation claim.
What are examples of retaliation?
Examples of workplace retaliation can include firing, demotion, reduced hours, or unjustified discipline because of protected activity. Depending on the applicable law, that activity may include:
- Reporting discrimination or harassment at work,
- Opposing conduct reasonably believed to be unlawful workplace discrimination or harassment,
- Providing information in the investigation of workplace harassment or discrimination,
- Filing a charge of discrimination,
- Reporting unsafe working conditions,
- Reporting illegal activity of the employer,
- Complaining about overtime violations,
- Requesting reasonable accommodations,
Just to name a few!
What is the penalty for retaliation?
Remedies for proven retaliation under Washington’s Law Against Discrimination may include lost wages, emotional distress damages, reasonable attorneys’ fees, and an order stopping unlawful conduct.2
See my section below called “How Much Money are Retaliation Claims Worth” to learn more about the breakdown of damages in a retaliation claim.
How much do retaliation lawyers charge?
In most cases, retaliation attorneys represent clients on a contingency basis. That means that the lawyer won’t get paid anything up front, and instead only receives a percentage of what you recover.
However, contingency fees can be a little tricky. Retaliation claims require a lot of time and energy for a lawyer to properly investigate and litigate. Therefore, the value of the retaliation claim has to be significant enough to justify the lawyer’s own investment.
Nevertheless, when contingency doesn’t seem like a viable option, retaliation attorneys like me may be willing to still represent you for an hourly rate.
How do you prove retaliation?
To prove workplace retaliation, a lawyer evaluates your protected activity, the adverse action, and the evidence linking them. You do not have to be fired to have a claim.
Scenario 1: You are still employed
If you are still employed, preserve a timeline of your complaint, who knew about it, and what changed afterward. Keep relevant communications and performance records you are lawfully entitled to retain, and seek advice about how to report concerns.
To document your concerns, I advise clients that are still employed to simply put their employer on notice by making a respectful complaint in writing to HR or management.
A factual written complaint can document your concerns, but it does not guarantee that retaliation will stop. A lawyer can help assess reporting options, evidence, and deadlines while you are still employed.
Scenario 2: You were fired
If you are not still employed, however, retaliation lawyers like myself have a few tools we use to prove your claim. I will briefly detail a few of them below.
First, we establish the sequence of events. As you know, retaliation requires the company to take an adverse action against you because of your protected activity. Therefore, your lawyer needs to establish that you first engaged in a protected activity, and THEN your employer retaliated against you. Furthermore, proximity in time between your protected activity and your employer’s adverse action helps establish employer motive.3
Second, we look at your job performance. Were you a satisfactory employee before you engaged in the protected activity? If so, when the employer claims you were fired for bad job performance, earlier positive reviews may help challenge that explanation, although they do not prove retaliation by themselves.
Third, we look at the employer’s discipline history. How has the employer disciplined other workers? If the employer claims that it fired you for being late, but we can show that other workers have been late and kept their job, then it’s more likely that the real reason for your termination was your protected activity.
Finally, we show that the employer is lying. In the litigation process, retaliation lawyers have various discovery tools that we use to collect information. We can use these tools to uncover inconsistencies in the employer’s story. When an employer lies about the reason they fired a worker, and the real reason was actually due to the worker’s protected activity, that explanation may be pretext. The evidence must still connect the adverse action to protected activity under the applicable legal standard.
How much money are retaliation claims worth?
Damages generally
Washington’s anti-discrimination statute gives workers the right to recover the “actual damages” sustained by the worker.4 The statute also gives workers the right to obtain a court order stopping future violations and also recover attorney’s fees. But, here, I will only address the “actual damages” portion.
Actual damages in retaliation claims include back pay, front pay, mental anguish, and emotional distress.5
Back pay
Back pay is the amount of pay you lost since the date of the employer’s wrongful conduct to the date of trial.
For example, let’s say you were making $80K/year at your job when your employer illegally fired you in retaliation for opposing discrimination. Despite your attempts to find a new job, you were unable to find work for one year. In that simplified example, gross lost wages would be $80K; recoverable back pay depends on the evidence, mitigation, and any applicable offsets.
Front pay
Front pay is the amount of future earnings you will miss out on because of the employer’s illegal conduct. You can miss out on future earnings because you had to take a job that pays less, or you can miss out on future earnings because your employer’s conduct diminished your earning capacity.
For example, say you were making $80K/year at your job when your employer illegally fired you. Through your own diligence, you were able to find a new job at a different company, but that new job only pays $60K/year. That wage difference may support a front-pay request, but future lost earnings are not automatic and must be supported by evidence. The cut-off date for front pay is up to the jury to determine based on your earning potential.6
Emotional distress
Finally, emotional distress and mental anguish are the emotional harms the employer caused the worker. The amount recovered for emotional distress and anguish depends on many factors. Some of those factors include:
- loss of enjoyment in life
- humiliation,
- pain and suffering,
- embarrassment,
- fear and anxiety.
The dollar amount attributable to your emotional distress is highly variant and must be determined on the specific circumstances of your case.
Determining the value of your case
In addition, an experienced retaliation attorney will look at many factors when determining the value of your case. The factors include:
- The strength of your proof of the employer’s wrongdoing,
- The amount of lost wages you’ve suffered,
- The amount of emotional suffering you’ve had to endure,
- Whether the employer’s conduct was particularly egregious,
- Whether your case will go before a judge or private arbitrator,
- Whether your employer is solvent,
- Whether your employer has a record of mistreating workers.
Can I sue for emotional distress from my employer?
Yes, under Washington’s Law Against Discrimination, plaintiffs can recover lost wages, emotional distress, and attorney’s fees. So, emotional distress is one of the categories of damages you can recover.
What is NOT considered retaliation?
An ordinary disagreement with a manager or coworker, without protected activity, does not by itself establish an unlawful retaliation claim. To succeed on a claim of retaliation, you must show that you participated in a protected activity. Protected activities include reporting discrimination or reporting harassment in the workplace. Reporting your manager for being a jerk is not necessarily protected activity.
Is it worth it to sue your employer for retaliation?
The quick answer is “it depends.” Employment litigation is a good way to hold an employer accountable for its wrongdoings. It is also a good way to get fully compensated for the harm you’ve suffered. If you have lost substantial earnings, your self-esteem has been severely impacted, or your career trajectory has taken a significant setback, suing your employer may be a good option for you.
However, if you are hoping to hit the jackpot and retire early, litigation is probably not your best option. Many retaliation cases do not succeed. The court system is not meant to help people get rich, no matter what you may have heard about the “hot coffee case.”
With that said, the civil justice system is an incredibly important component in our democracy. It is one of the only ways a regular worker can hold a powerful company accountable. The court system allows you to tell your story to the public and force powerful companies to change their unfair practices, which in turn prevents harm to other workers and protects the community.
When should you call a retaliation lawyer?
Contact a workplace retaliation lawyer when you suspect retaliation, even if you are still employed, and before signing a severance agreement.
If you are still employed
A lawyer can assess an ongoing situation, help identify protected activity, and explain evidence and filing deadlines. You do not need to wait until after you are fired to seek legal advice.
Therefore, if a worker is still employed and suspects they are the victim of retaliation, I advise them to write a respectful complaint about the retaliation to HR or management.
With a respectful, written complaint to management, you put the employer on notice. That notice will become incredibly helpful to your retaliation lawyer if it ever comes to filing a claim. An internal complaint does not guarantee a resolution and generally does not pause agency or court filing deadlines.
If you were fired
If you were fired in retaliation for a protected activity, you should call a retaliation attorney IMMEDIATELY. At the very least, you should contact an attorney before signing any separation agreement or severance package.
Employers will sometimes give workers an agreement that eliminates the worker’s ability to bring a retaliation claim. Your right to bring a claim is very valuable, and you should always talk it over with an attorney before signing.
What makes a good retaliation case?
Useful evidence includes the employer’s knowledge of protected activity, timing, written communications, inconsistent explanations, and treatment of comparable employees. Close timing may support an inference of retaliation, but timing alone does not establish every element or guarantee success.
What is the statute of limitations for retaliation?
The statute of limitations is the deadline to file your claim. If you fail to meet the statute of limitations deadline, your claim expires.
The statute of limitations varies depending on what kind of claim you file and where you file it.
Washington’s statute of limitations
The statute of limitations for actions involving retaliation under Washington’s Law Against Discrimination is THREE YEARS.7
However, if you choose to pursue your claim with Washington’s Human Rights Commission, employment complaints generally must be filed with the commission within SIX MONTHS.
Federal statute of limitations
For many Washington employees bringing Title VII, ADEA, or ADA claims, a charge generally must be filed with the EEOC within 300 DAYS of the challenged act. Federal employees generally have 45 days to contact an EEO counselor. Other retaliation laws have different, sometimes shorter deadlines; seek advice promptly rather than relying on a single deadline for every claim.
Employment Law is my Singular focus
If you were the victim of retaliation at work, you need a retaliation attorney who knows the practice area well and can evaluate your options for pursuing compensation.
I am a retaliation lawyer in Seattle, Washington, who focuses all my attention on one area of law so that you can rest assured that your case is in the right hands.
Contact Hones Law today for a free consultation.
- Tirizuto v. Bellevue Police Dept., 983 F.Supp.2d 1277 (W.D. Wash. 2013)
- Clipse v. Commercial Driver Services Inc., 189 Wash. App. 776, 358 P.3d 464 (Div. 2 2015)
- Campbell v. State, 129 Wash. App. 10, 23, 118 P.3d 888, 893-94, 201 Ed. Law Rep. 325 (div. 3 200D)
- RCW 49.60.030(2)
- Clipse v. Commercial Driver Services Inc., 189 Wash. App. 776, 358 P.3d 464 (Div. 2 2015)
- Pannell v. Food Services of America, 61 Wash.App. 418, 442, 810 P.2d 812 (1991), review denied, 118 Wash.2d 1008, 824 P.2d 490 (1992).
- Crownover v. State ex rel. Dept. of Transp., 165 Wash.App. 131, 265 P.3d 971 (Div. 3 2011).