Retaliation complaints abound against employers. The close timing of discipline, discharge or pay decision following the filing of discrimination charges or complaints can trigger retaliation recoveries in federal or state courts. The trend of retaliation complaints against employers, especially in discharge situations, is ever upward. In the Title VII lawsuit of Fierros v. Texas Dept. of Health, 234 F.3d 187 (5th Cir. 2001) the Fifth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals ruled that the denial of a subsequent raise to an employee who had filed a discrimination complaint with the employer's management is an "ultimate adverse employment decision" which is sufficient to support a retaliation claim. To qualify as an "ultimate employment decision" under the claimant's evidence burden of proof, an adverse employment action must have more than a mere tangential effect on a possible future ultimate employment decision.
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