Employment Law Practice Exam 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

To establish a claim of retaliation in a workplace setting, the key element is demonstrating that an adverse action occurred in response to a protected activity. This means that an employee engaged in a legally protected activity, such as filing a complaint about discrimination or participating in an investigation, and subsequently faced negative consequences from their employer, like termination, demotion, reduced hours, or unwarranted disciplinary action. The connection between the adverse action and the protected activity must be clear to prove that the employer's action was retaliatory in nature.

In assessing claims of retaliation, it is critical to establish this link because without an adverse action specifically tied to the employee's protected activity, the retaliation claim would lack a fundamental basis. Other factors, such as prior complaints, workplace favoritism, or higher performance metrics, may be relevant in examining the overall workplace environment or performance expectations, but they do not directly address the core requirement of linking an adverse action directly to a protected activity.