Complimentary Phone Consult with an Attorney Today
New Employment Cases 334-237-7773
Protect Yourself From Retaliatory Discrimination or Harassment
It’s an unfortunate reality that many workplaces have employees who act in illegal, abusive, or hostile ways. Fortunately, workers who are affected by this kind of misbehavior can seek justice. They can report illegal workplace actions to the right authorities.
Employees who choose this option can easily damage their professional relationships with their bosses and supervisors. These bosses and supervisors may decide to “punish” a worker for their perceived disloyalty with acts labeled workplace retaliation.
Often, this punishment takes the form of job termination, but there are other tactics, such as demotion, unwarranted negative evaluations, unwanted department transfers, denied promotions, and salary/wage cuts.
Retribution of this nature is illegal, however. If you believe your employers are retaliating against employees, you should be aware of your rights and possible avenues of redress provided by the law. At Barrett & Farahany, our team of workplace retaliation attorneys can help you fight this kind of injustice. Call us at (404) 238-7299 today to get started.
What Is Workplace Retaliation?
It’s the plot of horror stories: First, an employee reports the financial or environmental misconduct of their employer or stands up for a coworker who is being harassed. Then their job is threatened or – in extreme cases – their physical safety.
Workplace retaliation is more common than you may realize and just as serious. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency responsible for investigating charges of employer misconduct, retaliation represented 56.0% percent of claims in 2021. This percentage is more than double what it was ten years prior, which means the problem is only getting worse. In addition, PBS reported that seven in ten workers who report sexual harassment experience payback from their employers.
With employers avidly retaliating against employees, your main course of justice and protection is filing a lawsuit with the help of workplace retaliation attorneys.
What Protections Do You Have Against Workplace Retaliation?
Federal laws make it unlawful for an employer to retaliate against a worker who engages in conduct that the law protects. This includes:
- Trying to oppose or remedy illegal discrimination in the workplace
- Refusing to engage in conduct you believe to be unlawful
- Blowing the whistle on company misconduct
- Protesting an employer’s refusal to allow you to take legally protected leave
While the fact that you have legal protections does not deter many employers, filing a lawsuit in response will. What makes this even more important is the effect retaliation can have on the workplace as a whole. A business’ “open door” policy can be devastating to company morale. Furthermore, if you are punished for speaking up, your coworkers will think twice about reporting any company wrongdoing in the future.
Determining if You’re a Victim of Retaliation at Work
Workplace retaliation, by definition, is not bullying or harassment, though they are aspects of it. Rather, retaliation is an act that is “materially adverse” and likely to “dissuade a reasonable worker from making or supporting a charge of discrimination.”
As stated, unlawful retaliation typically takes the form of demotion, threats, or termination, but as a result of a recent Supreme Court decision, it does not have to be confined to employment or occur at the workplace.
Retaliation in the workplace is based on fear. When a manager or the company itself is backed up against the wall for a violation, they are going to use their power to make the problem go away. The easiest way is to push the whistleblower out of the organization.
However, the law is on your side. The EEOC, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and several other federal laws and agencies have provisions to protect tipsters from retaliation.
Examples of Employers Retaliating Against Employees
Employer retaliation can take various forms, often as a response to an employee engaging in legally protected activities, such as filing a complaint about discrimination or harassment or participating in an investigation. Here are some common examples of when employers are retaliating against employees:
- Termination: Firing an employee after they have filed a complaint or participated in a protected activity.
- Demotion: Reducing an employee’s rank or job responsibilities as a form of punishment.
- Salary Reduction: Cutting an employee’s pay or denying a raise they would otherwise have received.
- Reassignment: Moving an employee to a less desirable position or shift.
- Exclusion: Excluding an employee from meetings, projects, or opportunities for advancement.
- Increased Surveillance: Subjecting an employee to unwarranted scrutiny or monitoring.
- Negative Evaluations: Giving unjustified poor performance reviews to undermine the employee’s standing.
- Harassment: Creating a hostile work environment through bullying or intimidation.
- Disciplinary Action: Issuing unwarranted warnings or write-ups.
- Denial of Benefits: Withholding benefits or perks that the employee is entitled to.
These actions can be subtle or overt, but they all aim to punish or deter employees from exercising their rights.
What Are Protected Activities?
As defined by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employees are legally protected from workplace retaliation only if they have engaged in “protected activities.” These activities include the following:
- Refusing to follow a supervisor’s order to carry out an illegal or discriminatory act.
- Complaining to others about the company’s discriminatory practices. This includes those aimed at oneself or another party.
- Filing an official discrimination complaint with the EEOC.
- Participating in an official investigation into the company’s discriminatory practices.
- Requesting reasonable workplace accommodations as provided by law (e.g., the Americans with Disabilities Act).
Employment laws, like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, provide these protections to employees so long as they are acting in good faith. This means that employers cannot subject them to retaliation or any other adverse employment actions. Employees are protected even if their complaint is later found to not meet the standard for proving illegal behavior.
For instance, an employee who is fired for filing a sexual harassment complaint can sue under retaliation laws even if it is determined that the incident(s) that triggered the complaint did not qualify as discrimination or harassment under the legal definition. If the complaint was reasonable, it means the employee was honest. In this case, the federal laws against retaliation still apply.
Who is Protected by U.S. Employment Laws?
Any employee who engages in protected activities is protected by workplace retaliation laws. These federal laws also extend to those closely associated with a party who engages in protected activities. This includes a co-worker who aided an employee in preparing a discrimination or harassment claim, their spouse/partner who may or may not have the same employer, and dependents who use the employee’s benefits.
What Isn’t Workplace Retaliation Under Employment Law?
Workplace retaliation laws are intended to protect workers from adverse employment actions, such as unjustified loss of employment and unjust denial of advancement opportunities. They do not cover relatively minor phenomena such as “coldness” towards an employee who has initiated a discrimination or harassment claim.
In addition, employees are required to exercise sound judgment when engaging in protected activities. It is one thing to calmly inform a supervisor about illegal or discriminatory activities, and quite another to threaten a co-worker with violence.
How Workplace Retaliation Attorneys Can Help
Barrett & Farahany is a law firm with extensive experience in workplace retaliation cases. Our attorneys can help you prove the unlawful motivation behind your termination, demotion, or harassment and recover the compensation you deserve.
If you have been the victim of retaliation at work, it’s important to show that the employer’s excuse is factually untrue, that it was insufficient to have caused your discharge, that it is unworthy of credence, or that it is riddled with errors indicating its essential baselessness.
Doing what’s morally and ethically right in the workplace should not be the cause of termination. In fact, you should be applauded for alerting management so that corrective or preventative actions can be taken to repair the damage and minimize the chance of recurrence. With help, you can send a message of what should be. Contact our attorneys today.
Talk To An
Attorney Today
By providing a telephone number, e-mail address, and submitting this form, you are consenting to be contacted by e-mail & SMS text message. Message & data rates may apply. You can reply STOP to opt-out of further messaging.