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When Are Employers in Violation of Whistle Blowing Laws?
December 2, 2008 |
One of the major concerns of employees when complaining about company misconduct is the fear of being retaliated on. Fortunately, there are federal and state laws that aims to prevent it. All employees have the right to feel secure about their jobs even if they blow the whistle on their employers.
When do you need the services of a violation of Whistle Blowing Laws Attorney? When you feel that you have been treated unfairly at work after you have blown the whistle.
Who are considered as “whistleblowers”?
Whistleblowers are people who complain about certain misconduct/s such as manipulating shares, health violations, safety violations, and the likes. Even employees who did not make the actual complaint but willingly participate in an investigation regarding the complaint will be considered as covered by protection against any violation of whistle blowing laws.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, an employer is not allowed to terminate, harass, demote, or retaliate against an employee for participating in an investigation or filing a charge against the company. There are three terms used to describe what retaliation is. Retaliation occurs when one company or organization takes adverse action against one or more covered individuals for participating in a protected activity.
What does “Adverse Action” mean?
Adverse action constitutes those actions that are taken against someone to keep him/her from opposing discriminatory practices. Some examples of adverse action are:
• Employment actions like refusal to hire, termination, withholding promotion
• Actions that affect employment such as making threats, baseless negative evaluations, and the likes
• Other extreme actions such as assault, filing baseless lawsuits that deter employees from pursuing their rights, and the likes
What does “Covered Individuals” mean?
According to US laws, “covered individuals” include:
• People who opposed unlawful practices
• People who participated in legal proceedings against the company
• People who have asked for accommodations related to employment discrimination
• People who have close ties or associations with people who have engaged in “protected activities”
People who have complained about illegal activities that are not included or related to employment discrimination are not going to be considered as “covered individuals” and will not be protected by EEOC’s laws against any violation of whistle blowing laws.
What are “Protected Activities”?
• Opposition towards unlawful discrimination. Some examples of protected opposition are:
o Complaining about discrimination against one’s self or towards others
o Threatening to make a complaint against discriminatory actions
o Picketing against discrimination
• Refusing to participate in discriminatory practices
• Protection while participating in a hearing against employment discrimination
o Filing a charge against employment discrimination
o Cooperating in investigations about employment discrimination
o Serving as a witness in an EEOC litigation
The Facts
Why should people know their rights when it comes to violation of whistle blowing laws? The fact is that retaliation happens a lot. According to the EEOC, there were 26,663 charges of retaliation discrimination filed in 2007. More than $124 Million has been recovered in monetary benefits by aggrieved individuals.
It is important that employees feel safe that they do not need to compromise our beliefs against discrimination while in the workplace. It is also important that employees can fight for their rights in order to make working conditions better by removing employment discrimination. If you feel that your rights to do this have been disregarded, get in contact with a violation of whistle blowing laws attorney right away.
Our skilled Los Angeles employment attorneys specialize in issues such as violations of whistle blowing laws. For consultation, visit our website and avail of our free case evaluation.
Article Source: When Are Employers in Violation of Whistle Blowing Laws?
