The numbers at a glance
- 2,926 California EEOC charges alleging retaliation in fiscal 2025, 61.6 percent of all charges
- 11,837 California right to sue complaints in 2024 alleging retaliation for reporting or resisting discrimination
- 4,060 alleging retaliation for being a witness or participant in a complaint
- 54,350 retaliation charges nationwide in fiscal 2025, 61.6 percent of all charges
- 41% the California retaliation share in fiscal 2009, the start of the series
Retaliation is what happens after a worker does something protected: complains about discrimination or harassment, asks for an accommodation or leave, reports wage theft or safety problems, refuses an unlawful order, or supports a coworker's complaint. It is the most common allegation in employment filings because it can attach to every other claim, and because employers that would never admit to discrimination will act on a complaint without thinking.
California retaliation charges by year
| Fiscal year | California charges, retaliation, all statutes | Share of all California charges | U.S. charges | California share of U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,926 | 61.6% | 54,350 | 5.4% |
| 2024 | 2,592 | 50.8% | 42,301 | 6.1% |
| 2023 | 2,549 | 49.6% | 46,047 | 5.5% |
| 2022 | 2,259 | 51.3% | 37,898 | 6.0% |
| 2021 | 2,158 | 55.8% | 34,332 | 6.3% |
| 2020 | 2,306 | 55.8% | 37,632 | 6.1% |
| 2019 | 2,319 | 54.2% | 39,110 | 5.9% |
| 2018 | 2,183 | 50.3% | 39,469 | 5.5% |
| 2017 | 2,752 | 50.7% | 41,097 | 6.7% |
| 2016 | 2,937 | 50.0% | 42,018 | 7.0% |
| 2015 | 2,926 | 47.2% | 39,757 | 7.4% |
| 2014 | 3,088 | 48.5% | 37,955 | 8.1% |
| 2013 | 3,223 | 46.8% | 38,539 | 8.4% |
| 2012 | 3,406 | 46.0% | 37,836 | 9.0% |
| 2011 | 3,195 | 44.6% | 37,334 | 8.6% |
| 2010 | 2,939 | 41.0% | 36,258 | 8.1% |
| 2009 | 2,707 | 40.7% | 33,613 | 8.1% |
The California retaliation share went from 41 percent in fiscal 2009 to 62 percent in fiscal 2025, and crossed 50 percent in fiscal 2016. Fiscal 2025 was the first year the share exceeded 60 percent in both California and the nation.
A note on how to read the EEOC figures. The EEOC counts a charge under every basis it alleges, so a single charge that claims sex discrimination and retaliation shows up in both columns and the columns add up to more than the total. The state figures cover charges filed with the EEOC itself, not the tens of thousands of complaints California workers file with the state Civil Rights Department, which we cover separately.
State complaints, retaliation by what the worker did
| Basis | Right to sue 2024 | Right to sue 2023 | Right to sue 2022 | Investigated 2024 | Investigated 2023 | Investigated 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reported or resisted discrimination | 11,837 | 8,533 | 6,381 | 1,775 | 1,832 | 1,548 |
| Witness or participant | 4,060 | 2,800 | 2,252 | 157 | 160 | 148 |
| Requested disability accommodation | 8,288 | 5,308 | 3,679 | 958 | 918 | 758 |
| Requested CFRA leave | 5,184 | 2,922 | 2,518 | 505 | 410 | 417 |
| Requested pregnancy accommodation | 1,214 | 844 | 581 | 76 | 104 | 74 |
| Requested religious accommodation | 836 | 1,548 | 1,024 | 54 | 75 | 175 |
CRD tracks retaliation by what the worker did. Reporting or resisting discrimination is the largest line and was the second most cited basis of any kind in the 2024 right to sue complaints. Requesting a disability accommodation and requesting family leave, both of which are protected activity, add another 13,472 complaints.
From our files
A bank teller in California was raped by her branch manager after an after hours gathering that started at work. The bank said the assault happened outside the scope of employment and was not its problem, then fired the manager. Six months later it cut her hours and let her go. The firm framed the case as retaliation for reporting what happened to her, and the bank settled for a substantial confidential amount.
A note on how to read the CRD figures. The Civil Rights Department publishes its numbers by calendar year, and it counts a complaint under every basis it lists, so the basis rows add up to more than the number of complaints. Most California workers who go to court first ask CRD for an immediate right to sue notice rather than an investigation, so the right to sue table is the closer measure of how many people are actually pursuing a claim.
Outcomes nationally
Nationally the EEOC resolved 37,350 retaliation charges in fiscal 2025. 2,712 settled, 2,688 were withdrawn with benefits, 960 ended in a reasonable cause finding, 23,591 in a no cause finding and 7,399 were closed administratively. Merit resolutions totaled 6,360, 17.0 percent of resolutions.
Retaliation is often the strongest claim in a file even when the underlying discrimination is hard to prove, because the sequence speaks for itself: complaint, then consequence. Juries understand it, and the law does not require the original complaint to have been right, only reasonable and made in good faith.
What these numbers mean if it happened to you
- Protected activity is broad: an internal complaint, a CRD or EEOC filing, a wage claim, a safety report, a request for leave or accommodation, refusing to break the law, or helping a coworker.
- Adverse action is broad too: firing, demotion, cut hours, a bad schedule, exclusion, a sudden performance plan, or anything that would deter a reasonable worker from complaining.
- Timing is evidence. Weeks or months between the complaint and the consequence support the inference, and the employer then has to explain.
- California's whistleblower statute shifts the burden: once you show the protected activity was a contributing factor, the employer must prove by clear and convincing evidence it would have acted anyway.
Deadlines that decide these cases
A California worker has three years from the last act of harassment or discrimination to file with the Civil Rights Department, and one year after a right to sue notice to file in court. The federal deadline is much shorter, 300 days to file a charge with the EEOC. The counts on this page only include people who filed inside those windows. Everyone who waited too long is missing from every table here.
Punished for speaking up?
Free, confidential review with a California employment lawyer.
Sources
The figures on this page were taken from the following publications, as released by the agencies. Percentages, changes, sums and rates per 100,000 workers are our own arithmetic from those figures.
- EEOC, Table E1b, charge receipts by state and basis, FY 2009 to FY 2025, www.eeoc.gov
- EEOC, Table E1f, retaliation based charge receipts and resolutions, FY 1992 to FY 2025, www.eeoc.gov
- EEOC, Table E1a, charge receipts by basis or statute, FY 1997 to FY 2025, www.eeoc.gov
- California Civil Rights Department, 2024 Annual Report (complaint tables and county appendix), calcivilrights.ca.gov
- California Civil Rights Department, 2023 Annual Report, calcivilrights.ca.gov
- California Civil Rights Department, 2022 Annual Report, calcivilrights.ca.gov
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of discrimination charges include retaliation?
How many retaliation complaints are filed in California?
Is retaliation easier to prove than discrimination?
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Attorney advertising. The figures on this page come from the public sources listed above and are reproduced or computed as described. They are provided for general information and do not constitute legal advice, nor does reading this page create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different. If you believe your rights were violated, consult a California employment attorney promptly, filing deadlines apply.