Protected activity

What does “protected activity” mean?

Protected activity is conduct an employee cannot lawfully be punished for, such as making a good-faith complaint about discrimination, reporting a suspected legal violation, or requesting an accommodation or leave.

The protection does not require the underlying complaint to be correct. An employee who reports something in good faith that turns out to be unfounded is still protected against retaliation for having reported it.

It also does not have to be formal. A verbal remark to a supervisor can qualify, which is why managers frequently create exposure without recognizing that a complaint has been made.

Why it matters to an employer

This is the single most useful concept to train supervisors on, because the moment of exposure is usually a conversation nobody documented.