Retaliation Self-Check
Workplace-retaliation claims turn on three things courts examine. Answer a few questions and this tool will map your situation to those elements — so you understand the framework before you talk to a lawyer.
This is general legal information, not a legal opinion. It does not tell you whether you have a case, and using it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Your answers stay in your browser — nothing you enter is sent or stored (we count anonymous page visits only). Only a licensed attorney in your state can evaluate your specific facts.
The three elements a retaliation claim turns on
- 1. Protected activity
- Something the law shields you for doing — complaining about discrimination or harassment, reporting a safety or legal violation, requesting FMLA leave or a disability accommodation, taking part in an investigation, filing an EEOC charge, or discussing wages with coworkers.
- 2. Adverse action
- An action that might dissuade a reasonable worker from complaining. Not only firing: a demotion, a pay or hours cut, a sudden PIP or write-up, a punitive schedule, being frozen out, or a denied promotion can each qualify.
- 3. Causation
- A link between the two. Timing is the most common way courts infer it — the shorter the gap between your protected activity and the adverse action, the stronger the inference. Days or weeks is very close; many months, without more, usually is not.
All three have to be present. A workplace can be unfair, badly run or hostile and still be lawful — the question this tool helps you frame is whether yours has the three elements a court would look for.