Employer retaliation is when the employer takes action against an employee based on a report they filed or some other action that the employee took. For instance, maybe the employee has been discriminated against or sexually harassed on the job. They report that this is happening but, rather than putting a stop to it, the employer retaliates against the employee who made that report.
One clear example of employer retaliation is when they fire the employee or terminate them from their position. In fact, many people are hesitant to report infractions on the job specifically because they worry about negatively affecting their career. But this is not the only way that employer retaliation can take place.
5 other examples
To see how widespread retaliation can be, here are five potential examples:
- Giving the employee extremely low performance reviews for no other reason
- Lowering the amount of hours that the employee gets to work each week
- Reducing the employee’s salary or hourly pay rate
- Transferring the employee to a different department or a different job that is considered less desirable
- Generally making the person’s life more difficult at work, such as altering their schedule so that it conflicts with other areas in their life.
As you can see, retaliation can take many different forms, depending on the business in question and the employee’s position. But, no matter what it looks like, it could be an illegal practice because this type of retaliation is prohibited under U.S. labor laws. If you feel that this has been happening to you, then it’s crucial that you understand all of your legal options.
