Complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that include retaliation allegations have more than doubled since 1992 and account for a record 30% of charges filed. In some cases, employees have won retaliation cases, even when their harassment cases have been struck down.

The current case in front of the Supreme Court involves Sheila White, a former forklift operator for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. In 1997, she complained her foreman was sexually harassing her. He got a 10-day suspension. She was reassigned to dirtier track work, though her job classification stayed the same.

After White filed retaliation charges with the EEOC, a supervisor suspended her for insubordination. She was reinstated with back pay, but her lawyers contend that the company's actions constitute retaliation.

According to Mimi Moore, a partner at Bryan Cave LLP in Chicago, companies should expect to see more retaliation claims. In order to be prepared, the right approach should be to focus on techniques that could limit such complaints. Specialized training is important because some bosses accused of harassment may retaliate unintentionally.

Some companies already have policies and procedures in place. At Cardinal Building Maintenance, retaliation of any type is not tolerated. Managers investigate claims of harassment, discipline the harassers, and then check back in with the victim every two weeks for six months to make sure he or she is not experiencing retaliation.

Other companies, such as Michaels Stores, Inc. include tough anti-retaliation policies in their handbooks and require managers to review and sign them annually. Some other steps that employers can take to reduce retaliation claims stemming from allegations of sexual harassment or job discrimination include: