Workplace Retaliation

It is important that employees are encouraged to come forward with complaints of workplace discrimination. But many employees do not complain because of legitimate fears of retaliation.

Federal and state laws protect employees from workplace retaliation in Texas. The state law prohibiting retaliation is Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code. Federal laws prohibiting retaliation include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. These laws contain strong protections against retaliation. If you engage in a protected activity under any of these laws and face retaliation, you should consult a skillful Dallas workplace retaliation lawyer at Rob Wiley P.C.

Usually, to win a retaliation claim, you will need to prove that (1) you engaged in a protected activity (such as complaining about discrimination), (2) you suffered an adverse employment action (such as termination, demotion, shift change, etc.), and (3) that the employer’s motive behind taking the adverse employment action was retaliation for you engaging in a protected activity.

Often, there are intricate nuances in laws like Title VII or the Texas Labor Code that make it difficult to know for certain whether what an employee experienced was discrimination or harassment under the definitions provided by the laws. But, if you had a good-faith belief that what happened to you (or another employee, if you are opposing workplace discrimination against another employee) was discrimination or harassment or otherwise violated an anti-discrimination law, you made a complaint based on that good-faith belief, and your employer retaliated against you because you made that complaint, you may have a viable retaliation claim even if you do not have a viable discrimination claim. It is possible to prove retaliation even if you are not able to prove discrimination.

Given the likelihood of workplace retaliation, it is important to hire a workplace retaliation attorney in Dallas sooner rather than later. For example, an employment lawyer can ensure that your complaint to your employer through Human Resources or management qualifies as protected activity. Additionally, if your employer is on notice that you have a lawyer when you make your complaint it may lower the probability that the employer will engage in retaliation. Engaging an employment lawyer early can also give us time to prepare a legal claim if the employer does retaliate.

In the event that you have already been retaliated against, it is important to take legal action quickly. Retaliation and discrimination claims have very short deadlines. Further, the longer an employee waits to take action, the more likely it is that important evidence may be destroyed.

Ideally, an employer will take action when an employee complains about discrimination and fix the problem. Unfortunately, our Dallas workplace retaliation attorneys know from experience that is not always what happens. Sometimes, discrimination and retaliation are so embedded in corporate culture that an employee who complains will never feel safe at work.

Although our primary goal is to force employers to obey the law, sometimes, the best outcome for the employee is to negotiate a severance that allows them to leave the company and move forward with their career elsewhere. However, if an employee is forced to leave work because an employer cannot manage its workforce, the severance should reflect the full financial harm to the employee. Further, an employer offering a severance must offer enough compensation that an employee would accept the severance and leave a paying job.

Where an employer has already fired an employee in retaliation for engaging in protected activity, the only recourse may be formal legal action such as going to the EEOC or filing a lawsuit in court. It is extremely important to consult with an employment lawyer before going to the EEOC. Accordingly, it is important to consult with a skillful employment litigator about your situation as soon as possible.

Most anti-discrimination laws have an anti-retaliation provision. This is because an anti-discrimination law would not be useful if an employer could punish you for making a good-faith claim of discrimination or harassment by firing or otherwise retaliating against you.

If you have suffered from workplace retaliation, you should consult an experienced employment attorney. Call us at (214) 528-6500 or complete our online form to set up an appointment with a workplace retaliation lawyer in the Dallas area.