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Employers can’t retaliate for protected activities

On Behalf of | Jan 7, 2020 | Employment Law |

Many actions that businesses might take aren’t lawful because they go against laws that are set to protect employees. Even though there is a wide berth for what employers are allowed to do, they must never retaliate against an employee who engaged in a protected activity.

The laws against retaliation are meant to help stop employers from forcing employees to avoid filing complaints about illegal activities. Without these laws, the employers would be free to demote or fire employees who alert the authorities to problems like discrimination or other illegal acts like environmental violations.

Retaliation comes in many forms, so employees should be aware of what might happen. In order to be considered retaliation, the employer must be reacting because of the protected action of the employee. There are a host of things that might be considered retaliation. Understanding a bit about what employers might do that falls under this umbrella is beneficial.

Some of the common forms of retaliation include termination, demotion, position changes and similar negative employment actions. The key here is that you can’t slack on your job just because you engaged in a protected activity. You still have to keep up with your job duties because you can still face adverse employment actions for things that go against company rules and regulations.

It’s a good idea to keep up with your employee evaluations so you know where you stand. Having copies of these can benefit you if you think that you are the subject of retaliation as they can show that you have a strong history of good performance.