Employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, color, religion, gender and national origin pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Furthermore, employers are prohibited from discriminating or "retaliating" against employees who claim that they were discriminated against or otherwise wronged by the employer. Employee retaliation claims often arise after an employee alleges discrimination or wrongdoing on the part of the employer, and is subsequently demoted, denied advancement or terminated. In order to qualify as employee retaliation, there must be some link between the complaint from the employee and the termination by the employer. The timeframe is frequently important - if an employee is terminated soon after they filed a complaint, they may have a sufficient link for an employee retaliation claim. Put simply, if an employer "punishes" or terminates an employee because the employee filed a grievance or alleged discriminatory practices, that employer may be guilty of employee retaliation.