No, your employer cannot retaliate against you for filing an EEOC complaint. Retaliation for filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is illegal, and a Boston workplace retaliation lawyer can help protect your rights if that happens.
Federal and Massachusetts laws both make it unlawful for employers to punish workers for reporting discrimination, participating in investigations, or asserting their workplace rights. Despite these protections, retaliation remains one of the most common issues employees face in Boston, affecting workers across industries and income levels.
What Counts as Retaliation After Filing an EEOC Complaint?
Retaliation isn’t always loud or obvious. Sometimes it’s a slow erosion of your role, hours, or reputation—all designed to push you out or punish you for speaking up.
Here are common forms of retaliation we see in Boston workplaces:
- Termination: Being fired shortly after filing a complaint or helping in an investigation
- Demotion: Being reassigned to a lower-paying or less favorable position
- Discipline: Receiving write-ups or suspensions you never had before reporting misconduct
- Hostile work environment: Being excluded from meetings or subjected to constant scrutiny
- Shift changes: Being reassigned to worse hours or being denied overtime
- Poor performance reviews: Receiving unjustified negative evaluations
- Denial of promotion: Being passed over for advancement after engaging in protected activity
We’ve handled cases where employers retaliated slowly, changing job duties, reducing hours, or quietly blocking promotions. All of these actions can be illegal if they’re linked to a protected activity.
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How Federal and Massachusetts Laws Protect Boston Workers
Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it’s illegal to retaliate against employees who report workplace discrimination. This includes complaints based on race, gender, age, religion, disability, and more. But in Massachusetts, workers have even broader protections under Chapter 151B of the Massachusetts General Laws.
At Duddy, Goodwin & Pollard, we regularly represent Boston-area employees who face retaliation under both state and federal law. Massachusetts law protects workers even when they report issues internally, not just through the EEOC. It also covers informal complaints, giving Boston workers a stronger legal foundation to fight back.
As a Boston employment discrimination lawyer, we understand how to navigate the intersection of these protections and build the strongest possible case for our clients.
You’re Protected Even if You Weren’t the Victim
Many workers don’t realize they’re protected even if they weren’t the target of discrimination. If you helped a coworker, answered HR’s questions during an investigation, or testified about workplace misconduct, you’re engaging in a protected activity, and retaliation against you is illegal.
We’ve helped Boston clients who never filed a complaint themselves but were punished simply for supporting someone else. In one case, a woman who participated in a company investigation was quietly removed from projects and later terminated. She never alleged discrimination herself, but we successfully argued her case under Massachusetts retaliation laws.
It’s important to know that you don’t need to prove the original discrimination to win a retaliation case. Even if the EEOC doesn’t find sufficient evidence for the discrimination claim, retaliation is still a standalone legal violation if it occurred because of your protected actions.
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Why Employers Retaliate—And Why It’s Illegal
Retaliation often stems from fear of exposure, liability, or internal disruption. Unfortunately, instead of addressing the underlying issue, some employers try to silence or remove the employee who raised it. This type of behavior violates both the spirit and the letter of the law.
In the Boston area, we’ve seen this happen in large corporations, small businesses, public agencies, and unionized workplaces alike. No employer is above the law, and retaliation can come back to haunt them in court.
At Duddy, Goodwin & Pollard, we’ve taken on employers who thought they could get away with punishing workers in subtle or indirect ways. Our job is to show the connection between your protected activity and the employer’s response and to hold them accountable for it.
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What to Do if You Suspect Retaliation
If you’ve taken a stand at work and now things have changed—your hours are cut, you’re suddenly under scrutiny, or your job feels at risk—take action to protect yourself:
- Document everything: Keep a written timeline of key events, meetings, or changes.
- Save communications: Preserve emails, texts, or memos that show retaliation patterns.
- Gather performance records: Collect past evaluations that demonstrate your success before the complaint.
- Talk to an attorney: A Boston workplace retaliation lawyer can assess your rights and help you build a case.
Because we work on a contingency fee basis, you don’t pay unless we recover compensation for you. That makes it possible for workers across Boston to hold employers accountable, without facing additional financial risk.
You Don’t Have to Accept Retaliation—Let’s Fight It Together
You’ve already done something brave by speaking up — now let us stand with you. If your employer has punished you for filing an EEOC complaint or helping someone else, you may have a powerful legal claim under Massachusetts law.
At Duddy, Goodwin & Pollard, we help workers across Boston stand up to illegal retaliation, restore their careers, and seek justice. Contact us today for a free consultation with a team that knows how to fight—and win—in the face of retaliation. Let’s hold your employer accountable and protect your future.
Call or text (860) 999-9394 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form