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It cannot but please that working Americans across the country become more legally aware of their rights as employees. The cases of harassment or discrimination at work are well-known and typically found by the courts in favor of the plaintiffs. However, many still don’t know what is retaliation and don’t even realize they can fight back with the help of employment attorney. Unfortunately, sometimes it happens that the employer or manager harasses another employee not only basing on his/her origin and religion, but uses intimidation and humiliation. Here are the signs of retaliation in the workplace.

1. You’re Excluded or Left Out

Unfortunately, the silent treatment does not constantly stop after grade school. Actually, it’s one of the methods colleagues could exclude you from conversations connected to work. And if you observe that your co-workers are in a meeting and you’re still sitting at your workdesk, that’s another sign they’re leaving you out.

2. You’re Reassigned to a Different Shift or Department

An additional retaliation tactic is to relocate a staff member to a various division or switch their shift. Did you start from the advertising division developing exciting campaigns, and now find yourself stuck pulling reception duties?

Or perhaps you work at a telephone call center on the day change. All of a sudden your supervisor switches you to the 3rd shift after filing complaint. These scenarios make your life harder– a usual objective of office retaliation.

3. You Were Denied a Promotion or Raise

You’ve got an excellent feedback from your manager and applied for an internal promotion. A division you would certainly be working in has almost guaranteed you the job.

In the meantime, you have a conflict with one of the employees and submit a complaint with human resources. You believe there were a misconduct from his/her side – for instance, sexist remarks or rude behavior towards you. But this person happens to be a good friend of someone in a new division.

Next thing you find out, a younger employee with a lot less experience was promoted, and nobody will certainly tell you for what reason. Your supervisor fives you the cold shoulder when you try to clear things up and no one from the the other division is addressing your emails. Seems like retaliation for filing that complaint.

4. Your Salary or Hours are Cut

You work and perform your duties as usually but suddenly find out that your position with the company is at risk and the only way to save your job is to take a salary cut. Companies, especially small ones, often face financial difficulties and deduction of wages is a common instrument to stabilize the situation. However, this also may be a sign of retaliation.

But after a talk with the co-workers it seems strange that no one else in your department needed to take a cut in their pay. And it’s even stranger when a co-worker you just finished a project with received a bonus.

Another retaliation strategy is to considerably minimize your hours. If you typically work 30 hours a week but after some time realize that these amount dropped to 25 or even less without own initiative, think about it. Taking away your opportunity to work is as bad as reducing your pay, yet it’s much less noticeable.

5. You’re Fired from Your Job

This one is quite obvious. Let’s imagine you file a claim due to the fact that your employer isn’t really paying males and females the very same salary although they’re doing the same job. Next thing you know, you’re out of a work.

Though there are many reasons to be fired,  federal laws protect employees’ rights in such situations. For example, employers must not demote or fire a worker for taking qualifying or pregnancy leave.

Ending your employment with the company is just one of the most extreme retaliation tactics, however it takes place. And if that termination is a result of your complaint, it’s retaliation. State and federal law also prohibit retaliation against employees who assist in any harassment or discrimination investigations and any civil suits related to an investigation, as well as retaliation against employees who report any illegal activities of the employer to a government agency (also known as whistleblowers) or file claims.

A Chattanooga Employment Law Attorney Can Help Your

If you have noticed any of these signs of retaliation in the workplace, it’s time to protect your rights. The Chattanooga employment law attorneys of McKoon, Williams, Atchley & Stanley, PLLC,  have decades of experience representing public and private sector employees throughout Tennessee. Our employment law attorneys in Chattanooga handle state and federal court litigation, including trials, appeals, mediations, arbitrations, and settlements.