Retaliation claims cause huge headaches for employers — especially when employees may be raising frivolous complaints just to protect themselves.

Read the facts of this real-life case and decide: Who won?

The facts:

An African-American employee helped conduct interviews to hire a new member of her department. One of the candidates was an African-American woman that she recommended. However, the manager hired a white applicant who was more qualified, and the employee complained that the selection was biased. A few months later, the employee was fired due to performance problems.

The employer said:

The woman was fired because of documented performance problems — any complaint she made had nothing to do with it.

Who won the case?

Answer: The employer.

Why: In retaliation cases, companies can still be on the hook even if they prove an employee’s initial complaints were invalid. If the employee believes he or she was making a legitimate legal complaint, and the company retaliates, the employer will likely lose in court.

But that doesn’t mean an employee can claim retaliation based on just any frivolous complaint. According to the court, employees must have an “objectively reasonable” belief that they’re raising a valid concern.

In this case, the employee had no basis for believing the company had discriminated, so her retaliation claim didn’t fly. The case was thrown out.

Cite: Coleman v. Loudoun County School Board

Tags: complaints, retaliation