The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has finalized revisions to its written enforcement guidance on unlawful workplace retaliation under the laws the Commission enforces. The revised guidance, which became effective upon its August 29, 2016, publication, replaces the EEOC’s existing Compliance Manual section on retaliation issues.
The final version makes only minor improvements to the EEOC’s initial proposal published earlier this year, some of which were made directly in response to written comments filed by NT Lakis lawyers. For instance, the guidance helpfully eliminates any suggestion that an employer may be held strictly liable for retaliation by managers and supervisors who have been delegated responsibility to make tangible employment decisions, and clarifies and makes explicit that only materially adverse employment actions trigger potential liability for workplace retaliation.
At the same time, the EEOC has elected to retain troubling interpretations of the law pertaining to the breadth of “participation” and “opposition” conduct and the applicability of the so-called “manager rule.” The guidance also includes an extended discussion of “pay secrecy” rules arising in other contexts and under other laws not enforced by the EEOC.
A copy of the guidance is available here, along with a two-page Small Business Fact Sheet and accompanying question-and-answer sheet.
Members of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) can read more here.