Tag: discrimination

Whistleblower laws were designed to protect employees when they feel the need to report wrongdoing in the workplace. They could be reporting fraud, a breach of safety regulations or reporting on employment issues like sexual harassment or discrimination. In any case, they need to be free to take appropriate action without fear of losing their jobs, which is why these laws were passed in California.

Did you know, though, that the way that you complain sometimes determines whether or not you are protected from a boss’s retaliation? It’s very important to follow the letter of the law so that you don’t accidentally invalidate those protections and end up getting demoted or fired.

For instance, some regulations say that you must go to a superior and turn in a written account of your complaint. Others say to ignore your supervisor and instead report directly to a government agency. Still others say that just objecting to what is happening and refusing to participate on your own is enough.

As a rule of thumb, you typically want to write down all of your complaints. For example, you may find out that you just need to talk to your boss in person, without a formal written complaint. Still, it does not hurt to make multiple copies of a written complaint and then take them along when you file the verbal complaint. This hard copy ensures that your side of the story is well represented, meaning it’s harder for a boss to claim anything else happened.

You shouldn’t have to worry about retaliation when you do the right thing, and it’s wise to know exactly how to do this, from a legal perspective, to protect yourself and your career.

Source: AOL, “4 Times When You Should Complain About Your Boss,” Donna Ballman, accessed May. 22, 2015

Many of our readers have often read stories about employees who were retaliated against after making complaints about sexual harassment. Those many posts might have some of our California readers wondering what constitutes retaliation. According to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, there are several actions by an employer that constitute retaliation.

It is important to note that retaliation might be the result of several actions, including making complaints about sexual harassment. It can be because of a complaint about discrimination, opposing discriminatory actions or taking part in a proceeding regarding discrimination. It doesn’t matter what the discrimination is based on. It can be discrimination because of gender, color, race, age, national origin or disability.

Firing, demoting, harassing, coercing, intimidating, threatening, harassing or taking adverse actions against a person who files a complaint or participates in those complaint proceedings is against the law. That means that employers can’t deny the person a promotion, terminate his or her employment or try to get back at him or her using a variety of other methods.

People who think they are being retaliated against should understand that adverse actions backed up by things like a poor work performance history or similar factors wouldn’t necessarily be considered retaliation. With that in mind, it is important for employees to continue to do a good job at work even if they feel like they are the target of adverse actions.

When you start to think about it, determining what is retaliation might take some research and some scrutinizing. Working with someone familiar with retaliation claims might make the process a little easier.

Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, “Facts About Retaliation” Dec. 29, 2014

It may be hard to believe that racism in the workplace is still a deciding factor for many employees’ ability to work; after all, this is 2013, and we should be more enlightened, right? Sadly, racial discrimination suits are anything but uncommon in the state of California, with another civil case making an appearance against Menlo College this month. A former executive at the college is seeking financial compensation for retaliation, unfair business practices and racial discrimination in connection with his departure from the school.

The man alleges that he was targeted in 2011 when his supervisor was promoted to the president’s position at the school. The victim in this case was the chief financial officer at the school. He revealed financial mismanagement that was occurring under the new administration’s watch, including inappropriate use of federal aid money and false reporting on tax forms. The man alleges that his performance reviews, which had been “above average,” suddenly dropped, and his position was subsequently stripped of its prestige and pay. Instead, the president and a new vice president proposed that the man serve as a “budget director,” which paid significantly less than his existing job. When the man refused to be demoted, he was fired.

Before the man ever accepted the CFO position, he said his supervisor made racially charged comments during recruiting meetings. The supervisor insinuated that he was hiring the victim simply because of his race. He said Filipino workers tended to be more loyal than other populations, according to courtroom documents.

The man alleges that the president of the school was angry because his employee did not follow his racial stereotypes for Filipinos. In addition, the man’s job was eliminated because he chose to report federal financial violations as mandated by law. Menlo College representatives deny all allegations related to the claim, calling the suit baseless. It is not clear how much money the man is seeking in connection with the violations.

Source: 
www.mercurynews.com, “Suit accuses Menlo College of racism and retaliation in firing CFO” Bonnie Eslinger, Sep. 11, 2013