Sexual harassment in the workplace is a serious issue that no one should have to face. If you’ve bravely come forward to report sexual harassment to your employer, you should be able to count on your complaint being handled fairly and appropriate action being taken to stop the harassing behavior.
Unfortunately, some employers try to sweep harassment complaints under the rug. Even worse, they may resort to punishing the victim for speaking up. This is known as workplace retaliation, and it’s against the law.
At Desai Law, we stand up for the rights of sexual harassment victims. We also fight back against employers who retaliate against employees for exercising their rights. If you’ve experienced retaliation after reporting sexual harassment, you don’t have to put up with it. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation. We’ll explain your legal options and work to hold your employer accountable for their illegal actions.
What is Workplace Retaliation?
Retaliation happens when an employer takes negative action against a worker for engaging in legally protected activity. Making a good faith complaint about sexual harassment to your company is protected by law. It’s also illegal for an employer to retaliate against you for participating in a sexual harassment investigation or lawsuit.
Retaliation can take many forms but generally involves any adverse employment action meant to punish you for complaining. Some common examples include:
- Firing you
- Laying you off
- Demoting you
- Cutting your pay
- Reducing your hours
- Changing your job duties or shift
- Denying you a promotion or raise you deserve
- Giving you an unjustified poor performance review
- Verbally abusing or harassing you
- Increasing scrutiny of your work or singling you out for criticism
- Excluded you from meetings or work events
- Making your work life so intolerable you feel forced to quit
Some forms of retaliation are very direct, like being fired right after reporting harassment. However, other types of retaliation are more subtle. Your employer may try to disguise retaliatory actions as legitimate business decisions. That’s why it’s important to know the signs of retaliation and documentation any suspicions actions by your employer.
Signs of Employer Retaliation
After reporting sexual harassment, be on the lookout for these red flags that may indicate your employer is retaliating against you illegally:
Your Job is Threatened
One of the most severe forms of retaliation is termination. If you’re abruptly fired after complaining about sexual harassment with no prior performance issues, that’s a huge warning sign of retaliation, especially if you’re let go very soon after making the complaint without a chance to improve any supposed issues.
Even if you’re not fired outright, an employer may make subtle threats to your job security as a way to get back at you for reporting. Comments from your boss like “I hope you know this complaint will make people question your future here” or “We may have to reconsider your position” could forecast retaliatory action to come.
Your Responsibilities Change
Another common retaliatory tactic is to significantly change your job responsibilities. This may involve a demotion in title, even if your employer claims your pay and benefits will stay the same. Your duties may be reduced to entry-level work far below your qualifications and experience.
On the flip side, your workload may be drastically increased to an unreasonable level. You may be assigned an overwhelming amount of tasks with impossible deadlines. The goal is to set you up to fail so your employer has an excuse to fire you for poor performance.
Your employer could transfer you to a less desirable position to sour you on staying with the company. For example, if you’ve worked hard for a cushy corner office, being reassigned to a noisy cubicle by the bathroom would feel like a clear punishment.
Your Hours and Pay Are Cut
Sometimes, an employer will retaliate by hitting you where it really hurts – in the wallet. Cutting your hours and, therefore, your take-home pay allows them to retaliate in a way that can be hard to trace back to your harassment complaint.
This is especially true if your schedule is already somewhat irregular. Going from 40 hours a week to 25 would be a significant and suspicious change. But if your hours normally fluctuate between 32-40 hours and are suddenly capped at 30, that may be a more subtle form of retaliation.
Not getting a raise or bonus you’ve always received in the past could be a retaliatory move, as could having your commissions or tips withheld for questionable reasons. Even having expense reimbursements denied without cause may be a way to financially punish you for reporting.
You’re Excluded and Isolated
Retaliation may take the form of suddenly being excluded from things you used to be included in. No longer being invited to certain meetings you always attended before or not receiving important memos and emails relevant to your job can be signs of retaliation.
Your boss may stop communicating with you or become very short and curt when they have to. You may be left out of the decision-making processes you used to be central to. Coworkers may even start to avoid you because they’ve been told to have no contact.
Being isolated in these ways is meant to hinder your ability to perform your job duties. It can also make you feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in your workplace. Being ostracized by colleagues after complaining about harassment by one of their own is a terrible form of retaliation.
Your Authority is Undermined
Having your supervisory authority reduced or removed may be a sign you’re being retaliated against. If you oversee other employees or make important decisions, a retaliating boss may try to undermine that authority as punishment.
You may suddenly have a manager inserted above you to take over your main job duties or be told you have to get approval for decisions you used to make yourself. Team members you supervise could be encouraged to report to someone else or even refuse your directives.
Losing power and control over your area of responsibility is meant to belittle you in front of subordinates and colleagues. It’s a backhanded way of punishing you for making waves with your harassment report.
You’re Treated with Hostility
A very toxic form of retaliation involves management treating you with open hostility and contempt. Your harasser (or the friends/coworkers protecting them) may become downright nasty to you after you complain.
Yelling at you, using demeaning language, making insulting “jokes,” and spreading false rumors are all intimidation tactics meant to scare you into submission. If you already had to endure sexual harassment, then being verbally berated and abused afterward by a retaliating manager is a double dose of a hostile work environment.
A boss who’s friendly with your harasser may make it very clear they disapprove of your complaint and are only “putting up with you” because they have to. You may be glared at, given the cold shoulder, and even have people physically turn their backs when you approach. None of this is acceptable in a professional workplace and is a sign you’re being retaliated against.
Your Performance is Nitpicked
Having your work performance put under a microscope and nitpicked for minor issues that were never a problem before could be a retaliatory move. If your supervisor is trying to intimidate you into dropping your complaint or create a false record of poor performance to justify firing you, they may relentlessly criticize your work.
Everything you do may be scrutinized for the slightest mistakes. You may be written up or put on a “performance improvement plan” for errors that are commonplace and aren’t big deals when made by other employees. Nothing you do is ever good enough in your boss’s eyes.
If your performance reviews have always been glowing but take a sudden nosedive after you report harassment, that’s a huge red flag. Retaliating managers often try to “paper your file” with unjustified negative reviews to cover themselves if they later fire you and you sue.
You’re Denied Growth Opportunities
Being passed over for promotions or assignments you’re highly qualified for may be a sign of retaliation, especially if you always got great reviews and regular advancement before complaining.
Your boss may claim you’re not “management material” because you dared to speak up about being mistreated. Professional development opportunities like trainings, conferences, and special projects may be withheld with flimsy excuses about “limited resources” or needing “team players.”
Not being allowed to advance in your career as punishment for “rocking the boat” with a legitimate harassment complaint is the kind of professional retaliation that can negatively impact you for years to come. An employer may hope that blocking your upward mobility will frustrate you enough to resign.
Document Everything if You Suspect Employer Retaliation
If you suspect employer retaliation, it’s important to document everything. Keep detailed notes about every negative action taken toward you, when it occurred, and who was involved. Save copies of any emails, memos, or messages that demonstrate hostility or retaliation.
If you’re being excluded from meetings or your calls/emails are not being returned, document those incidents. Keep a log of how your job duties, pay, or authority changes over time after your complaint. Record the names of any witnesses who may have seen you being mistreated or heard your boss say derogatory things about you.
These contemporaneous notes will create a valuable timeline of the retaliation against you. Showing the negative actions began right after you reported harassment and continued over time goes a long way in proving retaliation. If you eventually have to file a retaliation lawsuit, this documentation will be crucial evidence to support your case.
Speak Up and Seek Help
If you’re being retaliated against, you don’t have to just take it. There are actions you can take to assert your rights and hold your employer accountable.
Check to see if your company has an anti-retaliation policy. If so, follow the steps to report the retaliatory acts to HR or management. Put your concerns in writing and ask for an investigation. The company should take action to stop any harassment or retaliation and prevent further mistreatment.
If your employer refuses to address the retaliation or takes action against you for complaining (like firing you), it’s time to seek legal help. Our experienced Morgantown employment lawyers can assess your situation and advise you of your options.
You may need to file a retaliation charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or a similar state agency before you can sue your employer in court. At Desai Law, we can help you navigate this process and build the strongest possible case.
Call Desai Law Today to Learn How We Can Help
No one should have to endure being punished for standing up to workplace sexual harassment. You were brave enough to report it; now, let us fight for your rights. Call Desai Law today at (304) 974-1974 to learn how we can help you hold your employer responsible for illegal retaliation.
