Do you feel as though your employer is retaliating against you? Have you recently complained about illegal activity in the workplace? Have you refused to go along with an illegal employer practice? Does it seem as though you are now being treated differently than you were before?
There are laws against retaliation in the workplace. Generally, an employer may not retaliate against you because you have engaged in legally protected activity. Examples including
- refusing to go along with illegal practices, - complaining about harassment or discrimination - writing a memo pointing out an illegal employer policy - contacting a government agency or "blowing the whistle" - testifying against your employer in court or an administrative agency
Frequently, employees who engage in this type of protected conduct fall victim to employer retaliation. Employers might become hyper critical of their work, exclude them from meetings, transfer them, fire them, or do other things that derail an otherwise successful career.
There are many laws designed to prevent unlawful retaliation and to compensate hard working, honest employees who fall victim to employers who violate these laws.
We are experienced at helping employees who have been the victims of unlawful retaliation. Many of our most successful lawsuits have involved claims of illegal retaliation.
Please complete our confidential questionnaire to submit your inquiry.
I feel like my employer is retaliating against me.
Recent Cases:
A federal appeals court in New York recently reversed a lower court that dismissed the case of a teacher who was fired for complaining about abuse of a special needs student. In that case, the teacher had complained that a fellow teacher was verbally and physically abusing students in her previous job as a teacher. When her employer discovered that she had complained in her previous job, she was terminated. The school tried to explain that the plaintiff had not "followed protocol" in complaining and that she had engaged in other incidents of not following protocol in her new job. The appeals court held that the teacher's termination could well be linked to the school finding out about her complaint and reversed the lower court's dismissal. Nagle v. Marron, 2011 WL 6142196 (2d Cir. Dec. 12, 2011).
A federal judge in Connecticut has held that an employee who was fired from his job for standing up for a coworker who was disabled could continue with his case. In this case, the employee told his supervisors numerous times that people were making fun of the disabled coworker but no one did anything about it. He also testified at a hearing in support of the disabled employee. The employer eventually fired the employee, supposedly on the grounds that he was insubordinate (he had also used a racial slur in the workplace, which is, of course, a legitimate reason to fire someone). The Court held that the employee had presented enough evidence that he had been retaliated against to continue with his case. Saviano v. Town of Westport, 2011 WL 4561184 (D. Conn. Sept. 30, 2011).
A Connecticut court recently refused to dismiss the case of an employee who was fired after he filed a Workers' Compensation claim. After he was injured and filed his claim, his employer started to treat him in a "harsh" manner and fired him about five months after the injury. The court held that the employee had shown enough of a causal connection between the firing and the injury because of the short period of time between the two events. Oquendo v. Margaritaville of CT, LLC, 2011 WL 2739626 (Conn. Super. June 24, 2011) (Martin, J.).
The Hayber Law Firm, LLC, Employee Rights Advocates, 221 Main Street, Suite 502 Hartford, CT 06106
