Footenote – Reprisal and Hostile Work Environment

We are accepting reprisal as a basis for this complaint under the opposition clause. See Palacios v. Department of the Army, EEOC Appeal No. 0120093302 at *3 (Jul. 14, 2011) (“[p]rotected activity” includes “opposing a practice made unlawful by an EEO statute”). Specifically, the Complainant alleges that he reported to management his supervisor’s June 2012 disparaging comments about people of Mexican origin; he asserts that his supervisor engaged in “hostile verbal, physical attacks and double standard treatment”; and he states that “[e]very time [he] reported [his supervisor’s] behavior to management it continued to get worse, as if [his supervisor] was retaliating … for reporting [the] hostile behavior.” The Complainant’s objections to his supervisor’s behavior could be protected activity if he “explicitly or implicitly communicate[d] a belief that the practice constitute[d] unlawful employment discrimination.” See EEOC Compliance Manual § 8-II (B)(2), citing Barber v. CSX Distrib. Services, 68 F.3d 694, 702 (3d Cir. 1995).