It is illegal to engage in workplace retaliation in any form. Both state and federal laws protect employees from retaliation. Employees cannot be fired for initiating a whistleblower claim, sexual harassment claim, workplace discrimination claim or pointing out other illegal activity occurring in their workplace. There are a variety of retaliatory activities employers may engage in which are all prohibited.
Employers are not permitted to terminate an employee’s employment because they have filed a claim against them. Employees may then be able to file a wrongful termination claim against the employer. Employers are also not permitted to demote the worker, alter their job assignment, alter their benefits, deny them a promotion or harass them because they have reported sexual harassment in the workplace, workplace discrimination or other illegal or prohibited activity in the workplace.
If a situation has grown worse for a worker because of unlawful retaliation, it is important for workers to be familiar with their rights and know how to enforce their rights. While workplace discrimination, sexual harassment and illegal activities are a concern in the workplace, so also is protecting workers from unlawful retaliation including wrongful termination.
Workers have a variety of important protections in the workplace because the law recognizes the importance of the ability to earn a living and to be secure that a livelihood will not be threatened because an employee seeks to protect themselves against sexual harassment or discrimination. Workers need to be familiar with the actions their employers are prohibited from taking against, their rights to a safe workplace and the remedies available to them when retaliated against.