In legal terms, workplace retaliation can be described as any hostile action or behavior that an employer may take against one or multiple employees for filing a complaint or assisting in a complaint or legal report concerning harassment, discrimination, and other law violations. Some of the most common acts of retaliation the law can protect someone from include:
- Demoting an employee
- Reassigning positions without prior notification or justification
- Payment reductions
- Giving unjustified negative evaluations
- Wrongful terminations
Whenever an employee, within reasonable grounds, suspects and reports any fraud, discrimination, harassment, or any other kind of illegal workplace activity, the law provides them with protection. Despite these, many employees still fear the possibility of experiencing retaliation from their superiors. Any kind of retaliative action represents a violation of state and federal laws and can serve as grounds for an employment lawsuit.
California has several laws that prohibit any form of retaliation in the workplace. For example, in cases where an employee acts as a whistleblower or files a complaint against their employer, the law protects the said employee from retaliation, regardless of whether the complaint is true or false. This legal protection also extends to cases in which more than one employee cooperates with an investigation, and the same laws will protect any person who provides testimony.
Any damages available for you to recover from a retaliation case will depend on the actions taken against you. Hence, in general, you can recover financial damages (including salary payments, paid time off, bonuses, or any other benefits) for any past and future lost wages because of retaliation.
In addition, given that these actions can often result in severe stress, especially in wrongful termination cases, it’s also possible to recover damages for pain and suffering. Finally, a court may also reward punitive damages against your employer depending on the impact of their retaliative actions, so keeping clear records of any impact workplace hostility may have on you is always advisable.