What is Unlawful Employment Retaliation?

Posted on Monday January 06, 2020

There might be a time during your employment when you have a complaint you would like to file with your employer, or you otherwise disagree with your employer’s conduct. Too many people never bring up concerns or issues about their employment and their rights out of fear that their employer will react negatively, and it might affect their job status. However, the law in California protects employees from unlawful retaliation in certain situations.

What Constitutes Employment Retaliation?

Retaliation refers to any adverse employment action that is based on an employee exercising their legal rights. There are many actions that might constitute retaliatory action, such as:

1. Refusing a deserved promotion
2. Refusing a deserved pay raise
3. Pay reduction
4. Reduction in hours or undesirable shift assignments
5. Undesirable transfer
6. Demotion
7. Reduction in duties or responsibilities
8. Increased supervision
9. Poor evaluations
10. Harassment
11. Termination

Employers generally have the right to transfer or terminate employees when they choose, as long as it is not for an unlawful reason. When such employment actions are rooted in retaliation, the employer has the right to take legal action and recovery for any harm they suffered.

Reasons for Workplace Retaliation

It can be difficult to identify when an adverse employment action is retaliatory, especially since employers will often give another false reason for the action to cover up retaliation. It is important to carefully consider what happened prior to the adverse action and whether your employer might want to retaliate against you.

Some common reasons for unlawful retaliation include the following:

1. Complaining of sexual harassment
2. Complaining of unlawful employment discrimination
3. Participating in an investigation regarding harassment or discrimination
4. Complaining of unpaid wages or overtime
5. Complaining of health and safety hazards
6. Requesting valid family and medical leave
7. Making a good faith workers’ compensation claim
8. Participating in collective bargaining activities
9. Reporting unlawful conduct by your employer
10. Refusing to participate in unlawful or unethical conduct
11. Taking time to vote or serve on jury duty

If any of the above happened and you were fired, demoted, or otherwise suffered negative consequences from your employer, you might have been the victim of unlawful retaliation.

You should not wait to contact an experienced employment lawyer in California to discuss a possible case. Employment laws give you the right to seek legal relief, which might include reinstatement to your job or a previous position, lost income if you were fired or demoted, and more. Retaliation claims are complicated, however, so you want to have the right employment attorney on your side.

Consult with a California Employment Law Attorney for Help Today

No employee should have to tolerate wrongful treatment because they are afraid of losing their jobs. Even though the law prohibits retaliation by an employer, many employers fail to comply with the law. At Mara Law Firm, we are committed to protecting the rights of employees who suffered unlawful discrimination, termination, or retaliation. Call us at 619-762-2949 or contact us online so we can evaluate what happened and the best course of action. Call our California employment law attorneys to discuss your options.