An employee can establish a case of retaliation if she has engaged in protected activity, suffered an adverse employment action, and can prove protected activity and the adverse employment action are connected.  To establish a prima facie case of retaliation, the victim must show (1) that she engaged in protected activity; (2) that her employer took an adverse employment action against her; and (3) that a causal connection existed between (1) and (2).  In other words, the "protected activity and the negative employment actions are not completely unrelated."