Retaliation Claims Against Employers Soar - But Why?

Last week, there was an interesting piece in the Milwaukee Biz Blog regarding a spike in anti-retaliation claims in the United States.  It was reported that there was a record-breaking number of 99,9942 claims filed with the EEOC in 2011 for a total cost of $455.6 million in relief for individuals filing claims, another record-breaking number.

So why is this happening?  The author, Christine Liu McLaughlin of the Godfrey & Kahn law firm, wrote this:

There has been much speculation as to the cause of the increase in the number of charges generally and retaliation charges in particular. Some blame the lagging economy in 2011, while others point to the EEOC’s re-focused enforcement agenda.

That just might be.  But I can't help but wonder how much might be due to the markedly anti-worker approach being taken, not only in Wisconsin, but in other states where ALEC's influence is evident.

I'd also guess things would be a lot cheaper if things were handled through an grievance process as offered with collective bargaining rights.  Maybe the Walker plan isn't working just for workers, eh?