There is a range of employment issues that can arise for employees in the workplace, including retaliation. But for employees facing things such as retaliation, it’s always important to know that there are federal and state-level protections that are afforded to employees to protect them from things such as retaliation.
But what exactly does retaliation mean in the workplace in Ohio? Retaliation can occur in different ways for a range of reasons. Below, we take a closer look at what retaliation means in the workplace and how you can handle it.
Retaliation typically occurs after an employee takes part in a protected activity like whistleblowing, filing a complaint of discrimination, or filing a harassment lawsuit against their employer.
Other protected activities include:
Federal and state laws such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) provide employees with protection to assert their rights through protected activities like the above. Retaliation in the workplace occurs when an employer chooses to take adverse action against an employee for exercising their rights.
Retaliation can take place in a number of forms including:
The above are just a few forms that retaliation can take. Employers will often attempt to mask their retaliation with pretextual reasoning to avoid legal consequences, making it all the more difficult to prove that retaliation has happened. The individual taking adverse action against an employee will rarely openly say that they are terminating or demoting an employee because they reported harassment or discrimination in the workplace.
When you find yourself on the receiving end of retaliation, you will need to be able to prove a causal connection between the protected activity and the adverse action.
If you believe you are facing retaliation in the workplace in Ohio, there are a few steps you can take to start building yourself a strong case.
You will need to prove that your employer’s real reasoning behind any adverse action was related directly to your protected activity.
To prove retaliation, you will need to be able to show that you:
Workplace retaliation can be an especially difficult situation to handle. If you believe that your employer has retaliated against you in any manner, the Coffman Legal team is here to help. We will help you determine what you can do to protect yourself and how to assert your rights as an employee – whether you have been laid off for whistleblowing or if you have been threatened for partaking in a protected activity.
Please connect with our firm of experienced attorneys online or over the phone at 614-949-1181 to schedule a free and confidential consultation today. Our employment retaliation lawyers are here to help advise you on your case and the next steps.