Checklist
Retaliation investigation checklist
Retaliation claims are the most common EEOC charge and often the hardest to defend because they hinge on timeline and intent. Use this six-part checklist to make sure nothing is missed before you write findings.
1. Confirm protected activity
- Did the complainant oppose a practice they reasonably believed was unlawful?
- Did they participate in an investigation, hearing, or EEOC/agency proceeding?
- Did they request an accommodation (ADA, religious, pregnancy)?
- Did they report a safety, wage, or whistleblower concern?
2. Identify the adverse action
- Termination, demotion, suspension, or pay cut
- Schedule changes, undesirable reassignment, or exclusion from meetings
- Negative performance review out of line with prior history
- Increased scrutiny, discipline, or PIP
- Any action that would deter a reasonable employee from complaining
3. Establish causation and timeline
- How much time passed between the protected activity and the adverse action?
- Who knew about the protected activity, and when?
- What was the decision-maker's stated reason, and is it consistent with prior actions?
- Are similarly situated employees treated the same, better, or worse?
4. Interview strategy
- Start with the complainant; capture allegations verbatim.
- Interview the decision-maker separately from the accused (if different).
- Get contemporaneous documents before interviews (emails, HRIS notes, timecards).
- Ask open-ended questions; avoid leading or legal conclusions.
- Give a confidentiality reminder without promising absolute confidentiality.
5. Evidence to collect
- Personnel file and performance history for at least 12 months prior
- Emails and chat messages around the protected activity and adverse action
- Attendance, discipline, and scheduling records
- Comparator data for similarly situated employees
- Any written policies referenced by the decision-maker
6. Findings and report
- State each element (protected activity, adverse action, causation) and the evidence for or against it.
- Write findings as substantiated, unsubstantiated, or inconclusive.
- Recommend corrective action separately from findings.
- Route the draft to counsel or HR leadership before distribution.
Draft the report
Feed your intake, timeline, and evidence into the Investigation Report Drafter to produce a structured AI-drafted report you can review, edit, and share with counsel. Opening the drafter from here prefills the allegation type as Retaliation and seeds the summary with the three elements to evaluate.
Informational only; not legal advice. Always route conclusions to qualified counsel before acting.