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

• Author: Ashley M. Alteri,Ellen V. Rubin,Young Joo Park
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00910260221123035
• Published date: 01 March 2023
• Date: 01 March 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/00910260221123035

Public Personnel Management

2023, Vol. 52(1) 3 –24

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/00910260221123035

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Article

Two Wrongs Do Not Make

a Right: Understanding

Retaliation for Filing

Discrimination Complaints in

the U.S. Federal Government

Ashley M. Alteri1, Ellen V. Rubin2,

and Young Joo Park3

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.

Keywords

discrimination, equal employment opportunity, retaliation, representation

1Buffalo State College, SUNY, NY, USA

2University at Albany, SUNY, NY, USA

3University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA

Corresponding Author:

Ashley M. Alteri, Assistant Professor, School of the Professions, Buffalo State College, SUNY, 331 Chase

Hall, 1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY 14222, USA.

Email: alteriam@buffalostate.edu

1123035PPMXXX10.1177/00910260221123035Public Personnel ManagementAlteri et al.

research-article2022

4 Public Personnel Management 52(1)

Introduction

The Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and the transgender movements in the United States

have highlighted two important issues: The real and perceived disparities between

how people are treated, and how complaints of discrimination are addressed. These

movements all call for equal treatment and an end to discrimination. One key barrier

to equal treatment in the workplace is how victims are treated by others following a

complaint of discrimination. If their complaints are not taken seriously, or worse, if

they experience retaliation for filing a complaint, then this discourages others from

objecting to discriminatory treatment. The use of retaliation as a threat to enforce

silence in the face of discriminatory behavior is a key reason why, under U.S. law,

employers are barred from retaliating against an individual for exercising their com-

plaint rights. Within the U.S. federal government, approximately half of the discrimi-

nation complaints filed by federal employees between 2013 and 2016 alleged reprisal.

While retaliation complaints are the most common type of discrimination alleged,

these types of complaints are arguably the easiest to mitigate since they represent a

secondary inappropriate behavior on the part of the agency.

We know that leadership does affect organizational culture (Khademian, 2002;

Rainey, 2014) and has the potential to influence employee confidence in discrimina-

tion policies (Offermann & Malamut, 2002). We also know that when employees feel

more confident in the complaint process, they are more likely to file complaints

(Newman et al., 2003). However, no studies have examined the relationship between

organizational elements, such as reporting structure or capacity, and incidents of repri-

sal. This study seeks to understand the organizational factors associated with retalia-

tion rates, using data from U.S. federal government agencies. For example, does the

structure of the agency’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) office affect the rate

of retaliation claims? How does the degree to which female and minority employees

are represented by supervisors that share their demographics influence retaliation

rates? Answering these questions would shed light on the black box of retaliation and

provide practitioners with strategies designed to prevent retaliation from occurring

(DeHart-Davis et al., 2018; Kulik, 2014). While discrimination and retaliation are

often a personal experience, and filing a complaint is a personal choice grounded in

law and ethics, the organizational context makes it more or less likely that individuals

feel empowered to file such a claim.

The article begins by providing an overview of the legal requirements an individual

must satisfy to assert a viable claim of retaliation. We then review the literature on how

organizational design may affect whether employees file complaints alleging retalia-

tion. Next we describe the data and methods used in our analysis and discuss our

empirical findings and their implications. In summary, federal agencies whose EEO

Directors report directly to their agency’s head have lower rates of reported retaliation.

Conversely, higher agency EEO staff to employee ratios are associated with increased

retaliation reports. In the basic model, increasing representativeness among women in

supervisory positions is associated with increased retaliation reports. Importantly,

there are two ways to look at an increase in complaints. Increased employment