FBI Agent Loses Harassment Case, but Wins on Retaliation 11-03-2005
- By Rita Risser, attorney at law

A 20-year veteran FBI special agent was the highest-ranking agent in her office and consistently received Superior performance ratings and commendations for her work. A new, male, supervisor was brought in and suddenly she could do nothing right. The supervisor gave her a Superior rating, but wrote her up for minor incidences. In response, she filed a claim of sex discrimination. A short time later, the supervisor gave her an unscheduled "interim" evaluation in which he rated her overall as unacceptable. He continued to write her up, queried people she worked with for evidence of her problems, and began termination proceedings.

While the process was on-going, the agent quit her job and sued for discrimination, harassment and retaliation. The Court of Appeals held, based on the evidence, that she could not prove the reason the supervisor treated her the way he did was due to her sex. However, the Court held that the evidence was that he had retaliated against her for filing the initial claim of discrimination. The agent was allowed to go to trial to prove her damages in front of a jury.

What this means to you: Whenever an employee files a claim of discrimination or harassment and remains employed, it is difficult to avoid a claim for retaliation. Seek legal counsel immediately!

 

Information here is correct at the time it is posted. Case decisions cited here may be reversed. Please do not rely on this information without consulting an attorney first.