If you decide to take action as a result of discrimination or sexual harassment, you need to have confidence and a clear understanding of your legal rights. Unfortunately, some workers stay silent and allow mistreatment to continue because they worry about the consequences of speaking out, such as losing their job.
It is pivotal to realize that retaliation is against the law, and you should go over examples of retaliation in order to swiftly address any additional mistreatment you encounter.
False rumors, transfers and other forms of retaliation
It is against the law for a covered employer to fire a staff member for filing or participating in a complaint about discrimination or harassment. However, you need to realize that retaliation can occur in many other ways. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, other examples of unlawful retaliation include scrutinizing a worker more because they participated in a discrimination complaint, reassigning a worker to a position to a less favorable position and verbally or physically abusing a staff member.
Sometimes, employers spread false rumors because an employee stood up for their rights, change their schedule to make life harder or give unfair performance evaluations.
Addressing workplace retaliation
If you have experienced retaliation because you took action over violations of your rights as an employee, you need to immediately gather evidence and understand your options. Hold those who violated your rights answerable and pinpoint strategies to secure the most favorable end result. Retaliation could affect you from a financial or mental point of view, and you deserve justice for any violations you have dealt with.