What is Retaliation?
In the workplace retaliation is any punishment directed towards an employee in response to a legally protected behavior. Many employees are hesitant to voice their complaints or criticisms in fear of retaliation, but is that fear well-founded? Keep reading to learn your rights against employment retaliation and how a Miami employment attorney can help you protect them.
What are Legally Protected Behaviors?
The EEOC (The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) exists to protect workers against discrimination and harassment. If an employee is subject to discrimination or harassment within their workplace then they are protected by federal law from retaliation if they decided to file a complaint with the EEOC or directly within the company. Even in the circumstance where the harassment or discrimination in question is not true, if the employee making the claims acted in good faith they are protected. If the employee genuinely believed there was harassment or discrimination at their workplace, they are protected from punishment under federal law. This federal protection covers both internal complaints (To HR or a Manager) and external complaints (Directly to the EEOC). Federal law also protects employees from retaliation if they decide to serve as witnesses in any EEOC investigations or legal cases concerning the harassment or discrimination. A Miami employment attorney can help to explain these rights and elaborate on the Federal laws that can protect you in the event you find yourself being victimized or believe that you may be affected.
Federal law actually protect workers who decide to speak out against unsafe work conditions or legal violations within the workplace. Again, it is important to have representation and if you feel threatened in your workplace and unable to speak out against hostile work conditions or clear violations found within your work environment, then you should seek the advice of a Miami employment attorney. Workspaces where employees are threatened with retaliation on the occasion that they criticize their leadership for mismanagement or abuse of authority should understand they have Federal law backing them. However, there are circumstances where an employee can file a complaint and experience retaliation from their employer without even noticing.
What Does Retaliation Look Like?
Anything from workplace reassignment to full-blown termination fall under retaliation. Essentially, any punishment given to an employee in response to them practicing a legally protected behavior can be considered retaliation. If you file an internal complaint about discrimination in your workplace and are reassigned to a different office that could classify as retaliation If you complain about legal violations within your office and suddenly find yourself with much less work and opportunities to speak then you could also be facing retaliation. The most obvious occurrences of retaliation are termination and wage deduction. Even so, while these punishments may be easy to identify as retaliation many workers believe they have no recourse against these legally questionable actions. Many times, it may be that the company decides to hide these retaliations in ways that can be proven later through evidence. This is why it is recommended that you contact a Miami employment attorney so that you could receive help in determining whether your termination or wage deduction was a case of illegal retaliation. Our Miami employment attorneys. at PereGonza have experience in these cases and can spot exactly what the retaliation may be or how the company is hiding its intentions more accurately than an average professional as this is something they deal with every single day. If you feel you may be a victim please don’t hesitate to contact us for a free case evaluation, we would be happy to help.
In Need of A Miami Employment Attorney?
Here at PereGonza, our experienced employment attorneys are willing to put in the work required to make sure you aren’t a victim of retaliation. If you believe you were a victim of retaliation– don’t hesitate to contact us by filling out the information block below.
