Employee must do more than ask for unpaid wages to set up retaliation claim

Wisconsin law prohibits employment discrimination based on protected traits and requires employers to comply with various wage and hour standards. It also prohibits retaliation against employees who complain of discrimination or wage and hour violations. However, a recent case limits which employees who are the subject of a wage and hour violation may make a retaliation claim.

Broad retaliation protection

When an employee voices opposition to discrimination based on age, race, sex, or any of the other protected characteristics under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA), retaliation based on merely voicing opposition to the discriminatory practice is prohibited.

For example, in a 1983 case brought before Wisconsin’s Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC), when an employee “expressed dissatisfaction” with sexual harassment and “asked [the offending party] to stop,” the worker had sufficiently opposed the discriminatory practice for the purposes of proving a retaliation claim following the employee’s termination.

Mere opposition is not enough to be protected

When it comes to wage and hour laws and some other employment regulations, however, an employee must do more than simply voice opposition to a prohibited practice to be protected against employer retaliation.