Whether you are reporting harassment, in a legal dispute with your employer or boss, or made a report that got your company in trouble, employers are not allowed to retaliate against their employees for reporting ethical violations or other wrongdoings within the company.
However, employees are retaliated against for doing “the right thing” all the time. How can you tell if your supervisor or company’s actions are retaliation? Here are a few common ways employers try to get away with it.
- Being left out: If you find you aren’t being told about meetings you would usually be in, decisions you would have usually had a say in, or projects that are under your scope of management, you need to speak to someone. According to statistics from the Ethics Resource Center, 64 percent of respondents say they were left out of decisions and work activity by supervisors.
- Verbal abuse: 62 percent of respondents in the survey said a manager verbally abused them, 51 percent reported verbal abuse by other coworkers, and 31 percent reported online harassment.
- Passed over: A little over half of respondents said they were passed over for a raise or promotion.
- Pay cut: 46 percent of respondents reported a pay cut or a cut in hours, while 32 percent report receiving a demotion.
- Job loss: While 44 percent of respondents report being relocated or reassigned, 56 percent say they almost lost their jobs entirely.
How do you know if you are being retaliated against? If one or more of these things begins to happen to you immediately following the lodging of a complaint against your company or making a report that is not favorable to your company, you have reason to be suspicious. Keep written records of the behavior that you are subject to, and the people who are involved.
If you have been the target of workplace harassment, discrimination or unfair termination, Bouchillon, Crossan & Colburn, L.C. represents clients in federal court and before the EEOC, MSPB and in state and union grievance hearings. Call Bouchillon, Crossan & Colburn, L.C. at 304-523-8451 or contact us online to schedule an appointment.