Riverside Workplace Retaliation Lawyer
Defending Workers’ Rights Across Southern California
A variety of federal and California state laws protect workers against unlawful harassment and discrimination. These same laws also protect employees from unlawful retaliation. Retaliation occurs whenever a worker is penalized for exercising a protected right, such as when an employee reports discrimination or other employee rights violations to an outside agency. Workers have the right to report unlawful conduct, and if they are punished for doing so, they have the right to hold unscrupulous employers accountable.
If you’ve been fired or otherwise penalized for blowing the whistle on illegal conduct or otherwise exercising your legal rights, you have the right to fight back. The dedicated and trial-ready workplace retaliation and workers’ rights attorneys at Ochoa & Calderón
are here to help you get the justice and the compensation that you deserve.
What Activities Are Protected?
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), retaliation is the most commonly reported form of workplace discrimination. Workers are protected from retaliation by their employers for engaging in a variety of protected conduct. Protected activities include:
- Filing a complaint with the EEOC or another governmental agency
- Acting as a witness in an investigation or lawsuit
- Filing or participating in a lawsuit against the company for employee rights violations or other unlawful conduct
- Communicating with a supervisor or the HR department about harassment, discrimination, or other unlawful conduct
- Standing up for a co-worker or otherwise refusing to tolerate workplace harassment or discrimination
- Refusing to follow orders that would constitute unlawful discrimination
- Refusing a supervisor’s sexual advances
- Requesting accommodation for a disability or religious practice
- Asking about wages or salaries in order to determine whether there is pay discrimination
The standard for proving an activity was protected depends in part on the activity. Participating in a complaint or agency investigation is always a protected activity. Other conduct, such as opposing possible discrimination, is protected so long as the employee was operating under the reasonable belief that there may be a violation of law happening in the workplace. If you have been subjected to any form of retaliation after engaging in a protected activity, talk to a seasoned California workplace retaliation attorney to find out if you have a case.
What Constitutes Workplace Retaliation?
Retaliation can take many forms. An employee need not be explicitly fired to give rise to a claim of retaliation. Employers may be guilty of retaliation if they take any adverse employment action against an employee for engaging in protected conduct, such as:
- Transferring an employee to a less desirable position or location
- Denying an employee training, credentials, or other opportunities for advancement
- Docking a worker’s pay, bonus, or benefits
- Subjecting a worker to verbal or physical abuse
- Terminating an employee
- Passing over a worker for a deserved promotion
- Threatening to report an employee (or actually reporting an employee) to authorities, such as for immigration-related concerns
- Issuing negative performance reviews for an employee that are not actually based on poor performance
- Creating a hostile work environment for the employee (spreading false rumors, encouraging hostility, freezing out the employee from workplace activities and events)
- “Constructive termination,” i.e., making the employee’s work-life so miserable as to force the employee to resign
If you have been subjected to any negative or adverse employer conduct after exercising your lawful rights, you may have a claim for retaliation. Talk to a dedicated workplace retaliation attorney to find out more.
What Can You Recover in a Retaliation Case?
If you demonstrate that your employer engaged in wrongful retaliation, you may be entitled to recover a variety of damages including:
- Back pay for missed wages, bonuses, etc.
- Front pay
- Damages for emotional distress caused by the employer’s actions
- Punitive damages, if the employer’s conduct was especially egregious or widespread
A dedicated California workplace retaliation attorney at Ochoa & Calderón can help you maximize your recovery in your workplace retaliation case.
Workplace Retaliation Attorneys Serving Riverside and Southern California
If you have been subjected to wrongful retaliation in the workplace in violation of California state or federal law, reach out to Ochoa & Calderón for a free consultation. We take appropriate cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning we only charge a fee if we are successful on your behalf, and our fees come as a percentage of the amount we recover for you. You’ve got nothing to lose by calling now, but you could miss out on enforcing your legal rights if you wait too long. Call us at 951-901-4444 in Riverside or throughout Southern California at 844-401-0750. Our lawyers are ready to fight for you.
