Employer Is Retaliating Against Me for Filing a Claim

Answer:

I was meeting with an attorney in my office this morning about a call that he received in which an employee of a company here in California told him they had filed a claim against their employer and felt like they were being retaliated against for making those complaints. The attorney and I sort of walked through those issues as to what the employee actually complained about and to whom. My questions were, did they complain just internally? Did they complain just locally, or did they complain to Human Resources? Did they complain verbally? Did they complain to a hotline? Did they complain in writing? We sort of walked through all those issues. I don’t want to get too specific into this person’s claim, but all of those questions are relevant as to what the next steps should be. Sometimes we have claims in which the employee actually went outside of the employer, contacting OSHA, the EOC or DFEH. I set up a meeting with this potential client because I think it was important for them to understand that just because you complain to your employer doesn’t mean that your employer’s conduct towards you is going to be unlawful. The first step is to determine what you complained about. Is it protected? Did you complain about conduct that’s unlawful, and who did you complain to? That’s the first step, ensuring that your complaint is going to be protected under California law or federal law. The next step is, assuming that what you complained about is protected under the law, how to document that. How do you ensure that at the end of the day there won’t be a dispute as to whether or not what you complained about was lawful. There’s a lot of cases in which the employer throws up their hands and says, “No, there’s no record of them ever complaining,” and my client will say, “I raised it to three people in the same meeting, and now you’re denying it.” It’s always helpful to figure out who you complain to and how you complain. If it’s just you against the world, if it’s just you against three managers, that doesn’t mean you didn’t complain. It also doesn’t mean that you can’t win your case. A lot of our cases have facts in which there is no written documentation. I’ll be honest, it’s always easier if there’s some contemporariness notes or some contemporariness email that goes out. This is to confirm the conversation we had in which I raised these issues. That’s one issue. One, again, making sure what you’re complaining about is protected under the law, and, two, that it’s always helpful to have some kind of documentation that you did call. If all that is happening and you’re still being retaliated against, then the question is what’s the next step. That next step you should take in California is to talk to an attorney. If you feel like you need to talk to an attorney to assist you in that, I would encourage you to talk to an attorney, especially an attorney that practices employment and labor law. If I could answer any of those questions for you, feel free to give us a call. I’m happy to talk to you about all three steps – whether or not the conduct that you’re complaining about is unlawful; two, how you should complain; and, three, how you should address any discrimination, retaliation, or harassment as a result of those complaints. If you have questions, always feel free to give us a call. We’re more than happy to help.