Retaliation Protection
An employer may not fire, demote, harass or otherwise "retaliate" against an individual for filing a charge of discrimination, participating in a discrimination proceeding, or otherwise opposing discrimination. Likewise, landlords, housing providers, property managers, and lenders may not evict, raise the rent, deny services or otherwise retaliate against an individual for filing a charge of discrimination, participating in a discrimination proceeding, or otherwise opposing discrimination. A place of public accommodations also may not deny goods and services to or otherwise discriminate against an individual for filing a charge of discrimination, participating in a discrimination proceeding, or otherwise opposing discrimination.
There are three main terms that are used to describe retaliation. Retaliation occurs when an employer, employment agency, labor organization, landlord, housing provider or lender, or place of public accommodations takes an adverse action against a covered individual because he/she engaged in a protected activity. These three terms are described below.
Examples of adverse actions include:
- Employment actions such as termination, refusal to hire, and denial of promotion
- Other actions affecting employment such as unjustified discipline or negative evaluations, unjustified negative references, or increased workload
- Any other action such as an assault or unfounded civil or criminal charges
- Housing actions such as eviction, raising of rent, denial of services, including repairs
- Denial of entry to a place of public accommodations or denial of goods and services, or increased cost of goods and services.
Adverse actions do not include petty slights and annoyances, such as stray negative comments in an otherwise positive or neutral evaluation, "snubbing" a colleague, or negative comments that are justified by an employee's poor work performance or history.
Even if the prior protected activity alleged wrongdoing by a different employer, retaliatory adverse actions are unlawful. For example, it is unlawful for a worker's current employer to retaliate against an employee for pursuing a complaint of discrimination against a former employer.
Of course, employees are not excused from continuing to perform their jobs or following their company's legitimate workplace rules just because they have filed a complaint with the MCHR or opposed discrimination or participated in a proceeding.
If you believe that you have been discriminated against, you can file a complaint of discrimination.
Covered Individuals
Covered individuals are people who have filed prior complaints of discrimination, opposed unlawful discriminatory practices, participated in proceedings like investigations or hearings, or requested accommodations for a disability or religious practice. Individuals who have a close association with someone who has engaged in such protected activity also are covered individuals. For example, it is illegal to terminate an employee because his spouse filed a discrimination complaint against the employer.
Individuals who have brought attention to violations of law other than suspected illegal discrimination are NOT covered individuals for purposes of the Act. For example, whistle blowers who raise ethical, financial, or other concerns unrelated to discrimination are not protected by the Act.
If you believe that you have been discriminated against, you can file a complaint of discrimination.
Protected Activity
Opposition to a practice believed to be unlawful discrimination
Opposition is informing an employer that you believe that it is engaging in prohibited discrimination. Opposition is protected from retaliation as long as it is based on a reasonable, good-faith belief that the practice being opposed violates the Act, and the manner of the opposition is reasonable.
Examples of protected opposition include:
- Complaining to an employer about alleged discrimination against oneself or others
- Threatening to file a charge of discrimination
- Lawful picketing in opposition to discrimination
- Refusing to obey an order reasonably believed to be discriminatory.
Examples of activities that are NOT protected opposition include:
- Actions that interfere with job performance so as to render the employee ineffective
- Unlawful activities such as acts or threats of violence.
Participation in a discrimination proceeding.
Participation is a protected activity even if the proceeding involved claims that ultimately were found to be invalid. Examples of participation include:
- Filing a charge of discrimination
- Cooperating with an internal investigation of alleged discriminatory practices
- Serving as a witness during the investigation, hearing or litigation of a discrimination complaint.
A protected activity also can include requesting a reasonable accommodation based on religion or disability.
If you believe that you have been discriminated against, you can file a complaint of discrimination.
Association Discrimination
The Missouri Human Rights Act (the Act) protects individuals against discrimination on the basis of their association with a person in a protected category. The Act applies to employers with six or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies, “temp services", and to labor organizations. It applies to landlords, housing providers, property managers, those selling houses, realtors and to those providing loans for dwellings. The Act also covers all businesses that offer their goods and services to the general public including state and local governments. Therefore businesses cannot refuse, withhold from or deny accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges to any person based on their association with a person in a protected category.
Equal employment opportunity, fair housing opportunity, and public accommodations cannot be denied to any person because of his/her association with a person in a protected category. For example, a landlord cannot refuse to rent an apartment to a mixed-race couple. An employer cannot refuse to hire an individual who has a child with a disability out of fear that the child would raise their employee health insurance rates. An employer cannot fire an employee when it learns the employee is married to someone from another country. In all of these examples, the person’s association with someone protected by the Act was a basis for taking the adverse action.
Job requirements must be uniformly and consistently applied to individuals regardless of their association with an individual protected by the Act. Similarly, rental and tenancy requirements must be uniformly and consistently applied to individuals regardless of their association with an individual protected by the Act. Businesses should offer their goods and services without regard to the associations of their customers.
If you believe that you have been discriminated against, you can file a complaint of discrimination.
Terms, Conditions, and Privileges
The Act prohibits discrimination in compensation and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. Thus, association discrimination may not be the basis for differences in pay or benefits, work assignments, performance evaluations, training, discipline or discharge, or any other area of employment. Likewise, the Act prohibits discrimination in the terms, conditions and privileges of housing. So, association discrimination may not be the basis for differences in rent charged or the sale price of a house, the terms of housing loans, lease requirements or rules of tenancy. The Act also prohibits discrimination in the use of places of public accommodations. Thus protected associations cannot be used as a basis for denying goods or services or for applying different terms or conditions on the provision of goods or services.
If you believe that you have been discriminated against, you can file a complaint of discrimination.