Two Wrongs Do Not Make a Right: Understanding Retaliation for Filing Discrimination Complaints in the U.S. Federal Government

Abstract

One of the primary barriers to equal treatment in the workplace is how victims are treated following a complaint of discrimination. If complaints are not taken seriously or if employees experience retaliation, this discourages others from objecting to discriminatory treatment. This research focuses on retaliation claims and organizational characteristics associated with those claims, using data from U.S. federal government agencies. We evaluate whether leadership reporting structure, staff capacity to manage complaints, and manager representativeness are associated with the rate of retaliation incidents reported by employees. Agencies where the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Director reports directly to the agency head have lower rates of retaliation claims. Conversely, agencies with more EEO staff, per employee, have higher rates of retaliation claims. Manager representativeness is not associated with retaliation claims. Importantly, increased discrimination complaints may not signify a “bad” agency. Instead, this could signify that employees are filing because they believe their claims will be addressed fairly.