Getting Even in the Workplace Is Illegal

Added: (Tue Jan 12 2010)

Pressbox (Press Release) - When someone speaks up about unfair employment practices where they work, this is considered to be a protected right. Retaliation for saying something is illegal.

Reporting violations of the law in the workplace to the right authorities, exercising a worker’s rights and taking part in a lawsuit as a plaintiff or defendant that focuses on their place of employment are employee’s rights that are protected under US law. “These protections were initially put in place because employers tend to try and get even with a person who has ‘ratted them out.’ CEOs and managers don’t like being reported for questionable conditions in the workplace,” commented Seth Wilburn of the Gomez Law Group, a Dallas employment lawyer and Dallas business lawyer.

Generally speaking, there are two Acts that protect workers who do speak up and out; the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). In the case of the NLRA, it shields workers who file a complaint about the conditions of their job. “On the other hand, the Civil Rights Act protects employees who complain about discriminatory practices where they work,” said Wilburn.

Another piece of rather well-known legislation that comes into play in these cases is the US Constitution that has a specific section that permits, defends and protects exercising free speech. There is also something referred to as Whistleblower laws that safeguard those on the job that blow the whistle on a company after other avenues of grievance have been pursued and failed.

“In order to be able to file a retaliation charge, the act or offense must have been ‘materially adverse to a reasonable employee or job applicant’ and that the challenged action might well have ‘dissuaded a reasonable worker from making or supporting a charge of discrimination’ in the workplace,” Wilburn outlined.

It goes without saying that most employers won’t admit they are trying to get even against an employee who filed a complaint against the company. What this means is that the person who did file has to show a connection between the protected activity and the bad consequences that happened later. “There are several ways to show that the complaint and retaliation are linked which may include a blatant lack of investigating the initial complaint; unequal and inequitable treatment of the worker in question; a questionable incident that happened shortly after a complaint was filed; and hostility as a common occurrence aimed at employees who don’t agree with working conditions,” explained Wilburn.

“In situations like this, it is vital the person filing the complaint does not wait too long to do so. Time is critical here and courts have been known to throw out cases where plaintiffs waited too long to file retaliation complaints,” added Seth Wilburn of the Gomez Law Group, a Dallas employment lawyer and Dallas business lawyer. Immediately get ahold of a skilled Dallas business lawyer and find out what options are available in circumstances like this.