Q: Employer retaliation for reporting discrimination; fiancé fired, next steps?

A: Your fiancé may have grounds for a third-party retaliation claim based on the Supreme Court decision in Thompson v. North American Stainless, which established that close family members (including fiancés) can be protected from employer retaliation when their partner engages in protected activity such as reporting discrimination. The timing between your protected activities (reporting discrimination, declining a potentially retaliatory drug test, seeking medical attention) and your fiancé's termination creates a suspicious temporal connection that could support a retaliation claim under both federal and California law, which offers even stronger worker protections than federal statutes.

Your actions thus far demonstrate prudent judgment - filing an EEOC complaint, documenting incidents, identifying witnesses, and attempting to communicate with your employer all create a paper trail that strengthens your position. California's Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits retaliation against employees who report discrimination or take protected medical leave, and the replacement of your position with someone in a non-protected class (particularly someone you previously reported for harassment) may constitute additional evidence of discriminatory intent.

As for next steps, we recommend parallel actions: your fiancé should file his own EEOC charge alleging third-party retaliation while you both consult with an employment attorney experienced in workplace discrimination cases to evaluate the strength of your claims and potential damages. Additionally, consider filing complaints with California's Civil Rights Department, which can investigate independently from the EEOC and may provide faster resolution paths in some cases. Finally, continue meticulous documentation of all communications, expenses, emotional distress, and employment consequences resulting from these actions, as these records will prove invaluable for establishing damages should litigation become necessary.