Workplace Retaliation

Your Local Bronx Employment Law Attorney Discusses Workplace Retaliation

If you are having issues in your place of employment, you may want to consider contacting your local Bronx employment law attorney to help you. Issues in the workplace are becoming more common as the workplace is becoming more diversified. Any complaint of harassment or discrimination that an employee makes must be taken seriously by the employer. The issue needs to be investigated properly if a complaint is made. If the employee who filed the complaint feels that it was not handled properly, or feels like they are being retaliated against for complaining, then it may be time to contact your local Bronx employment law attorney to help you.

What is workplace retaliation?

Any negative action that is brought upon an employee who filed a harassment or discrimination complaint with their employer could be considered retaliation. If the employee has been fired, disciplined, demoted, written up in a negative manner or have had their pay reduced, then the employee is experiencing retaliation from the employer. Even if the employee has been reassigned to a new position, that could be considered retaliation from the employer. Not only can the employee who filed the complaint be retaliated against, but any other employee who is involved in the investigation may be subjected to retaliation from the employer. Any employee who gives a witness statement during the investigation cannot be retaliated against for participating.

Can the outcome of the investigation determine if the employer can retaliate?

In a short answer, no. No matter if the investigation determines that the original claim was true or not, the employee who filed it cannot be retaliated against. Even if the employer finds out later that the employee who filed the complaint was flat-out lying, they may not bring about any retaliation to that person.

Is it possible for an employer to be retaliating against an employee unintentionally?

Unfortunately it is possible for an employee to be the victim of unintentional retaliation from their employer. An employer may feel like the actions that they are taking will help the employee who complained, however it is still seen as a form of retaliation. For example, if the employee had filed a complaint about harassment in the workplace, the employer may feel like they are helping the employee by moving them to a different office or location. Even though the employer feels like they are helping, it is unintentional retaliation. If the employer truly wants to take a positive action for the employee, then they would need to remove the cause of the problem, not the employee who complained about it.

How should an employer treat you after you have filed a complaint?

After filing a complaint, an employer may still give you a negative review that had nothing to do with the basis of the complaint. In this case, you need to make sure that the reasons for this negative review are clearly documented to be sure that the employer is not retaliating for the complaint. If you have trouble finding any evidence or proof for the negative review, you may want to contact your employment law attorney for professional help.

How should your employer work to prevent retaliation in your workplace?

The first thing your employer should do is to create a policy that will prevent retaliation. The policy will need to clearly state what is considered retaliation and that the company will not stand for it. The policy should also clearly state what the process is for an employee to file a complaint and how they should be investigated. Your employer should take all complaints seriously. The employer should gather all the pertinent information and be sure that a thorough investigation is done. Your employer should also focus on a solution to the problem, as well as what the root cause of the problem really is. All employee complaints should be kept private by the employer. Those who are part of the investigation will have access to any records, however others not involved should not. Your employer should be keeping detailed records for any complaint that is filed. All papers starting with the initial complaint down to the conclusion of the investigation should be kept on file.

Call Your Local Bronx Employment Law Attorney

The Law Office of Delmas A. Costin, Jr. is the Bronx employment law attorney you need to help you fight for your rights as an employee! Call (877) 440-0854 today.