Under federal and state laws, workers have the right to protection against retaliation for disclosing information that they can reasonably believe would provide evidence for legal and regulatory violations, abuses of authority, or substantial and specific dangers to public health or safety.

Notably, employees of private companies must assert their rights to obtain protection of any kind. Some laws apply across industries, giving workers the opportunity to safely disclose workplace health and safety concerns, while other laws may be sector-specific and provide the worker the right to report their employer’s violation of industry standards. If you feel you have been punished for submitting a legal disclosure to proper authorities, contact Win Nguyen Law Firm to secure your rights now!

• An employee has acted as a whistleblower, e.g. alerted authorities to an illegal or wrongful practice in their workplace;

• Refused to carry out illegal or wrongful actions while in their workplace;

• Applied for Workers’ Comp after having been injured or become ill at work;

• Applied for Family or Medical leave as is their right until the FMLA;

• Filed a complaint of discrimination with the EEOC or state agency;

• Filed a complaint with a Department of Labor because of wage theft.

The following are examples of retaliation at work:

• wrongfully terminate you;

• refuse to pay your correct wages for reasons outside of your abilities or standard of work;

• harass you via verbal abuse or notes, letters, emails, texts, or social media;

• enact physical violence.

To be able to prove your employer is retaliating, you must have evidence that such incidents occurred and are not due to your work history or poor quality of work. For instance, if you discovered and notified the authorities of your employer’s illegal activities, you must keep evidence of such illegal activity and the notification you made or communication you had with authorities. If you believe you have been fired or retaliated otherwise for applying to workers’ compensation or family and medical leave, you should retain records that you have applied for either of your legally protected requests.

If you are facing retaliation at work in any of the listed ways, contact Win Nguyen Law Firm right away to build your case and protect your future from being damaged.