Legal Question in Employment Law in Washington

Re: retaliation

I agree with Ms. Pugh.

Re: retaliation

The facts in your question are a little unclear to me, but this is what I understand the facts to be: a male manager had (inappropriate?) physical contact with you, and was investigated; while you did not instigate the investigation, somehow you are ending up being the one punished - with a corrective action plan, and removal from prestigious assignments. Assuming I have the facts right, and assuming that management knows you felt the contact was inappropriate (and that you did not instigate it), yes, this is the type of conduct that can be considered retaliatory. You need to complain about this to HR (even though it may not be fruitful) and/or write a response to the corrective action plan, and ask for that to be placed in your personnel file. Under Washington law, employers MUST place a response from an employee to discipline/corrective action in their file, if the employee asks.

If your employer is larger than 8 employees you also might want to consider filing a complaint with the state Human Rights Commission, see http://www.hum.wa.gov/complaintProcess/index.htm . If your employer is larger than 15 employees you could file a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, see http://www.eeoc.gov/charge/overview_charge_filing.html. Or you might want to contact an attorney, especially if this behavior by management continues or escalates.