Retaliation occurs when an employer punishes an employee for engaging in legally protected activity such as filing a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, taking FMLA, or complaining internally concerning a discriminatory action.
Retaliation can be as direct as a demotion, discipline, firing, salary reduction, or job or shift reassignment. But retaliation can also be more subtle. For example, a shift change may not be a big deal for one employee but changing the shift of an employee with children may be considered an adverse employment action.