You should feel safe within your workplace no matter what your race, color, gender, sexual relationship or health may pertain. The right to feel protected from discrimination and sexual harassment is a basic right for all workers. As such, under your employee rights, you should have the same rights as any of your co-workers.
Yet, many employees still face harassment and discrimination. This often happens because the harasser feels as though they have some kind of power over their employees. When this happens, victims of harassment and discrimination may suffer from retaliation, a type of illegal conduct that might be used to deter an employee from continuing to seek work at their current job.
Retaliation can be subtle or it may be obvious. Either way, you should know when you’re the target of workplace retaliation. Here’s what you should know:
5 signs of retaliation
If you’ve become a target of discrimination or sexual harassment then you should watch for signs of retaliation. If your employer is retaliating against you because of who you are then you should watch for the following:
- Reduced wages: The most obvious sign that you’re suffering from retaliation is if you find your wages were reduced, making it harder to consider staying in your line of work.
- Passed-up promotions: If you were guaranteed a promotion, but then lost the chance for no clear reason, then that could be an indication of retaliation.
- Overworked: You may be facing a ton of work recently, so much that it’s becoming overwhelming – if your employer isn’t letting up, then they may be retaliating against you.
- Underworked: Likewise, if you’re not seeing enough work, then you could feel like your job is redundant, and it’s likely your employer’s fault.
- Changed roles: If you were reassigned to a role that you had no credentials for, making it harder to do your job, then it could be a sign of retaliation.
If you believe you’re a victim of workplace retaliation and it has something to do with your characteristics, then you may need to know your legal rights against harassment and discrimination.
