FAQs About Working With a Workplace Retaliation Lawyer

If you suspect your employer of retaliating against you for filing a discrimination claim, you might wonder whether it’s worth hiring a workplace retaliation lawyer. Doing so can be a wise choice because retaliation claims are much more complicated than your average personal injury lawsuit.

Below, find some FAQs about working with a workplace retaliation lawyer, including what to expect when consulting a workplace retaliation lawyer.

Workplace Retaliation Attorney FAQs

Here at Kent Pincin, clients ask us many common queries about retaliation lawyers. We provide answers to some of these questions here.

What Can a Workplace Retaliation Attorney Do for You?

Workplace retaliation attorneys understand state and federal employment laws, so they can tell you whether you have a valid case. If you do, they can help you gather proof of retaliation and represent you in a hearing against your employer.

While it’s possible to file a claim against your employer without a lawyer, we don’t recommend it. Too many things can go wrong, and if you don’t have rock-solid evidence of retaliation, a judge may toss your case without a second glance.

How Do Workplace Retaliation Attorneys Decide Whether To Represent You?

A workplace retaliation attorney won’t simply take your case just because you think your employer is being unfair. Attorneys look for these four components when deciding whether to take your case:

• You experienced or witnessed illegal discrimination (includes discrimination based on an employee’s gender, age, national origin, or disability status)
• You participated in a protected action
• Your employer retaliated by taking an adverse action against you
• You suffered damages because of the retaliation

What, exactly, is meant by a “protected action?” Protected actions can include things such as:

• Talking about discrimination that you experienced or witnessed with your boss
• Filing a discrimination lawsuit
• Filing a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
• Participating in a hearing, proceeding, or investigation involving discrimination
• Assisting in an EEOC investigation (whistleblowing)
• Talking with co-workers or supervisors about pay (regardless of whether or not you’re a union member)
• Combatting sexual harassment or stepping in to protect others from harassment
• Opposing discriminatory acts at work

What is an adverse action? This can include any retaliatory action your employer takes against you because of your participation in a protected activity. Examples include:

• Firing or threatening to fire you
• Demoting you to a lower-paying role
• Denying you a promotion
• Taking money out of your paycheck
• Abruptly changing your schedule
• Giving you unwarranted negative feedback on performance reviews
• Harassing, threatening, or intimidating you
• Physically attacking you

What Proof of Retaliation Do You Need To Provide to Your Attorney?

This is one of the more common FAQs about working with a workplace retaliation lawyer. A workplace retaliation attorney won’t take your case unless you can provide some kind of proof of retaliation. This is often difficult to do, because the vast majority of employers won’t announce their intentions to retaliate against you.

Fortunately, you can use circumstantial evidence to prove retaliation. Valid evidence shows or suggests a connection between your participation in a protected activity and your employer’s adverse action against you.

Good evidence may include:

• Statements from co-workers who saw or suspect retaliation against you
• Emails and other correspondence
• Recorded statements
• Unfair performance reviews
• Being put on a performance improvement plan (PIP) when you’ve done nothing wrong
• Recent awards, accolades, or promotions
• Attendance records
• Company policies

What Remedies Are Available for Workplace Retaliation?

If you win your retaliation case against your employer, the court will order them to provide some type of restitution to you. If your employer denied you a promotion, for instance, a judge may force them to give it to you. And if they fired you as a means of retaliation, they’ll usually have to give you back your job.

But that’s not all. They may also have to pay back wages you lost while out of work, as well as the cost of training and reasonable accommodations (if you lost your home because you lacked a paycheck, for instance).

Are Workplace Retaliation Attorneys Expensive?

Many workplace retaliation victims don’t bother hiring a lawyer because they fear the cost. They think they can’t afford retaliation legal assistance, especially if they have no paycheck because their boss fired them.

However, many workplace retaliation lawyers work on contingency. That means you don’t pay anything unless your case wins. And, if you’ve made a complaint with the EEOC, this watchdog agency may order your employer to pay your attorney’s fees.

In short, you have nothing to lose by consulting a workplace retaliation attorney.

Dependable Legal Guidance on Workplace Retaliation

We hope that these FAQS about working with a workplace retaliation lawyer have been helpful. If you need further workplace retaliation assistance or help understanding retaliation laws, contact Kent Pincin at (310) 376-0922 for a free consultation.