Elliott-larsen Civil Rights Act

[stern01]

What is the name of your state? Michigan

The following excerpt comes from the ELLIOTT-LARSEN CIVIL RIGHTS ACT of 1976 for Michigan. This is the law covering discrimination in the workplace based on an individual's weight.

37.2701 Prohibited conduct.
Sec. 701.

Two or more persons shall not conspire to, or a person shall not:

(a) Retaliate or discriminate against a person because the person has opposed a violation of this act, or because the person has made a charge, filed a complaint, testified, assisted, or participated in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this act.

Here is my statement and question:

I filed a grievance against my supervisor and my HR Director with my employee grievance committee which contained allegations of discrimination based on my weight. In the middle of the grievance process, I was transferred from my department to another department.

My question refers to the above excerpt. Does my employer's action constitute retaliation since I opposed a violation of the Act, as stated above, even though the retaliation took place before I actually filed my civil rights case?

My interpretation is that, because I alleged weight discrimination in the grievance, I was transferred to another position. The first part of the excerpt states: "Retaliate or discriminate against a person because the person has opposed a violation of this act." It then goes on to say "or made a charge....under this act." I think this means retaliation can be applied "either/or" -- before the actual civil rights complaint is filed or before it's filed.

Can anyone point out to me if they think I'm on the mark here, or not? Thank you.

 

[Sinsaint26]

Retaliation can occurr at any time after a complaint is made, not just after a civil lawsuit is filed. If you made a complaint and soon after you were demoted or put in a less desirable position that could be retaliation.

 

[stern01]

Thanks Sinsaint. Does anyone else have an opinion?

 

[Beth3]

I wasn't familiar with this law and just read an overview of it at Michigan State's web site. Yes, it does provide protections from discrimination based on weight and from retalliation for filing a complaint. I agree with Sinsaint on her interpretation.

 

[enjay]

Would a transfer to another department not resulting in a loss of status or pay constitute retaliation?

 

[Beth3]

Quite possibly. ANY change in employment status following a complaint of prohibited discrimination is potentially suspect so an employer needs to be sure they can demonstrate a legitimate business need for the change including documentation which shows that it would have take place regardless of the complaint.

 

[Sinsaint26]

Just about anything can be perceived as retaliation. A demotion, a reduction in pay, a shift change or termination could all be forms of retaliation. It all depends on the impact the change has on the party involved. I read a story recently where a woman successfully sued her employer because they moved her to a different shift (no reduction in pay or status) after she complained of sexual harassment. The company claimed the move was to keep the two apart, but the move created a hardship on the employee, thus making her believe it was in retaliation for filing a complaint.

For all we know stern01 could have been moved to a new department that is not doing well. After a few months the company could phase the entire department out, including him, and say he is gone for those reasons rather than the real reason, which could be his complaint. He could have been put in a new department that his company knows will be hostile towards him to the point where stern01 will quit. Or he could have been moved to a smaller department and given more work, again hoping that he will just quit. All of these could be retaliation but only stern01 can tell us why he feels his move to a new department is retaliation.

 

[stern01]

Thank you all for your responses.

The action they took was to move me from an Information Technology department to the Quality Assurance department. There was no specific need identified.

Over the past year, my supervisor in the MIS department has impeded my work by not letting me correspond with internal customers for whom my assignments were attached. He has treated me differently than other professionals in the department by giving me much less work and giving me projects which are not in line with my job description. These jobs would often be suited to clerical support or entry level employees. I was hired as a business analyst and computer information systems professional for which I have an MBA degree. My cohorts would often have five or six complicated projects going while I received an assignment to extract a list of names from a database. That would take about ten minutes. It was often a week before I received another assignment.

There are so many other issues involved. The bottom line--I believe that my MIS supervisor, along with the HR Director, colluded to try to achieve their end, which was to humiliate me in front of my colleagues and get me to quit, instead of addressing the supervisor's punitive, discriminatory and retaliatory behavior, etc.

In the end, I have lost a year's worth of professional experience and now have been moved to a position which prevents my involvement with information systems.

 

[Sinsaint26]

What you are describing is a constructive discharge. This means that rather than your employer outright firing you, they are trying to make your job so miserable that you quit, thus no wrongful termination complaint. Are you working for a unionized company? Did you sign a mandatory arbitration agreement when you were hired or is there a mandatory arbitration notice in the handbook?


I don't know much about the union setting but if nothing is being done you should consider filing a complaint with the EEOC. The EEOC in most states has a 180 day time limit in which you must file a complaint. If you are unionized you may have to wait until your grievance complaint is addressed by your company but I am not certain. You should call your state EEOC office and ask if you can file a complaint now or if you must wait until the grievance process is over.

 

[stern01]

Actually, I have been through the Employee Grievance Committee. We have no union. I have since filed a complaint with the Michigan Civil Rights department under the Elliott-Larson Civil Rights Act.

As I explained in my original post, my grievance with the Employee Grievance Committee contained statements made by my supervisor pertaining to my weight. My HR director would not address this issue, among others, but instead transferred me in the middle of the grievance process. My contention under the Elliott-Larson Act is discrimination based on my weight, along with retaliation, since I believe they transferred me because of my opposition to discriminatory statements asserted in the grievance.