Prohibited acts

(a) Interference with rights It shall be unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under this Act, including— (1) violating any provision of section 3 or 4; (2) discharging or discriminating against (including retaliating against) any individual, including a job applicant, for exercising or attempting to exercise, any right provided under this Act; (3) using the taking of paid annual leave provided under this Act as a negative factor in an employment action, such as hiring, promotion, reducing hours or numbers of shifts, or a disciplinary action; or (4) counting the use of such paid annual leave under a no-fault attendance policy or any other absence-control policy. (b) Interference with proceedings or inquiries It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge or in any other manner discriminate against (including retaliating against) any individual, including a job applicant, because such individual— (1) has filed an action under section 6, or has instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding, under this Act; (2) has given, or intends to give, any information in connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided under this Act; or (3) has testified, or intends to testify, in any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided under this Act. (c) Impermissible consideration A violation of subsection (a) or (b) shall be established when a complaining party demonstrates that the complaining party exercising any right provided under this Act was a motivating factor in any action described in subsection (a) or (b) against the complaining party, even if other factors also motivated the action.