Can you spot the difference between coincidence and retaliation?

Have you heard about the small toy store owners in St. Paul, MN, who complained about ICE on their local news. They went on camera. They criticized ICE. Loudly. Publicly. Three hours later, two plainclothes ICE agents reportedly walked into the store and served a Notice of Inspection—an I-9 audit request.

And we're supposed to believe that timing is just… coincidence?

This is what retaliation looks like.

Retaliation cases rarely come with a smoking-gun email that says, "Punish her for speaking up."

Instead, they often look like this:

🎯 Someone engages in protected activity (complains about discrimination, harassment, safety, wages, leave, etc.).

🎯 The employer says, "We take this seriously."

🎯 And then… suddenly… something bad happens. A write-up. A demotion. A schedule change. A PIP. A termination. And management insists, with a straight face: Unrelated.

Timing matters. 

If an employee has a spotless record for years—no discipline, no performance issues, no attendance problems—and then the first adverse action hits right after protected activity, it screams retaliation. Maybe it isn't. But it sure looks like it. And that's what fuels lawsuits: not just what happened, but what it appears happened.

Retaliation doesn't require termination. 

The adverse action standard is a low bar. It's anything that will reasonably deter employees from speaking out in the future.

Termination is the cleanest version. But retaliation often shows up as death by a thousand cuts: sudden scrutiny, nitpicking, selective enforcement, and "we're just holding everyone accountable" that somehow only applies to the complainer.

This toy store story is the same pattern in a different setting: outspoken criticism… then hours later an enforcement action lands at the door of a company that never had any prior issues.

Employers, if you want to avoid retaliation claims, follow this rule: If you wouldn't have done it before the complaint, don't do it right after the complaint.

And if you truly must act, slow down and do it right:

Document the legitimate reason

Apply the rule consistently

Involve HR and legal early

Retaliation cases aren't usually won or lost on intent. Instead, it's time and perception—and bad timing makes even "legitimate" decisions look punitive.