Charlotte Workplace Retaliation Lawyer

Employees in the workplace have certain rights and protections to ensure that they are respected and free from discrimination, harassment, and other threats in the workplace. If you have filed a complaint against your employer or requested accommodations, and your employer has retaliated against you, you need to discuss your situation with a Charlotte workplace retaliation lawyer at The Fuller Law Firm to identify any rights you may have.

It is important for employees to be able to complain about instances of discrimination and harassment without the fear of retaliation or punishment to support a positive and productive workplace for all employees. The workplace retaliation attorneys from The Fuller Law Firm, P.C. can help you to identify instances where you could be entitled to file a claim and recover damages.

There are a variety of sources of anti-retaliation laws, including:

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
The Equal Pay Act
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Family and Medical Leave Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act

If you have been wrongfully retaliated against for your membership or association with a protected class or engagement in a protected activity, you should speak with our Charlotte workplace retaliation lawyers as you could have a workplace retaliation claim.

Forms of Workplace Retaliation

There are a variety of forms of workplace retaliation that covered employers are prohibited from engaging in against employees who have engaged in protected activities, including:

Firing
Demoting or decreasing the job title or role of the employee
Reducing compensation and other benefits
Harassing and creating a toxic workplace environment

A worker is protected against employer retaliation when they have engaged in a “protected activity”, which includes:

Reporting discrimination
Reporting safety issues
Requesting accommodations
Participating in an investigation

If your employer has engaged in retaliation against you for an activity that you believe entitles you to protection, you may be able to recover damages equal to the financial losses you have experienced in addition to punitive and other damages.

A Charlotte Workplace Retaliation Lawyer at The Fuller Law Firm Can Explain the Primary Reasons Employers Retaliate

While an employee might be protected if they decide to expose the law-breaking, dangerous, or otherwise improper behavior of their employer, this can lead to real-world costs and implications for the employer. When an employer experiences a financial cost as a result of the behavior of an employee, they may move to retaliate against them. Situations, where this may occur, include when an employee:

Files a workers’ compensation claim
Reports an instance or instances of sexual harassment or assault
Reports any kind of discrimination
Files a complaint about wage theft
Requests an accommodation for a disability
Exposes incriminating information about the employer (known as whistleblowing)

The workplace is meant to be free of risks to health and safety, as well as discrimination, harassment, and all other illegal and statutorily prohibited behaviors. Employees are protected when they decide to support their and their coworkers’ safety by filing a rightful complaint against their employer, and a Charlotte workplace retaliation lawyer can help every step of the way.

Whistleblowing: Reporting Safety Hazards on the Job

Employers in the United States have a duty to maintain a workplace that is free of risks to the health and safety of employees. This is a proactive responsibility to engage in activities that mitigate these risks. Whistleblower laws and protections have been established to protect employees who report safety issues, as doing so betters the health and safety of the entire workforce.

The Whistleblower Protection Program enforced through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is one of the means by which employees have a protected right to report instances in which their workplace is unsafe. There are more than 20 different whistleblower statutes enforced by OSHA to protect employees from retaliation for reporting violations of:

A variety of workplace safety and health issues
Airline or commercial motor carrier concerns
Consumer product safety issues
Environmental threats and/or issues
Financial reform
Food safety
Anti-money laundering laws
And other protected activities

Employees are encouraged by these federal statutes to report issues to ensure that employers are providing a safe workforce for employees and also producing products and services that are safe for the general public.

Whistleblowing: Reporting Violations that the Fair Trade Commission’s Whistleblower Protection Covers

Similarly the FTC, through the Office of Inspector General, enforces the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA). The Act protects federal employees or applicants for federal employment when they make protected disclosures. The WPA also has established penalties for supervisors who engage in retaliatory behavior against whistleblowers.

A disclosure is protected under the WPA if the employee discloses information that the employee has reasonable belief to be evidence of:

An abuse of authority
A violation of any rule, regulation, or law
Gross mismanagement
A gross waste of funds
An abuse of authority
A specific or substantial danger to public safety or health

Only employees of the federal government and certain subcontracted employees and other related contractual workers are covered under the WPA. To determine if you might be covered, it is helpful to discuss your claim with a local Charlotte workplace retaliation lawyer at The Fuller Law Firm.

Connect with a Charlotte Workplace Retaliation Lawyer at The Fuller Law Firm, P.C.

If you have been the victim of workplace retaliation, you and your family may be left to wonder how to make up for the difference in your earnings that the retaliatory behavior might have caused. If your former employer also engaged in malicious behavior such as giving falsely negative reviews to other potential employers, you could also be entitled to damages concerning your earnings ability.

The purpose of pursuing a workplace retaliation claim is to enforce your rights as an employee if you have been retaliated against for proper complaints, requests for accommodation, and other protected actions. If your employer is covered and your actions were as well, state and federal laws will provide support for your claim and may help you recover complete compensation for all costs and damages linked to the workplace retaliation.

To learn how we can help on your workplace retaliation case and to determine what legal rights to damages you might have, speak with a Charlotte workplace retaliation lawyer by calling (704) 659-5600, or visit our site to schedule a consultation.