Defending Retaliation Claims

Retaliation lawsuits, which are also known as workplace complaints, occur when an employee feels that they have been subjected to bad performance reviews, harassed by other employees for complaining about poor performance or when they feel they have been discriminated against on the basis of sex, race, religion, or other protected categories. In most cases, if the complaining employee does not receive a written reprimand from their supervisor, they can file a case in court to seek damages for unfair treatment and to obtain redress for the discrimination that occurred. The law generally requires that if you can establish liability on the basis of these types of lawsuits, you must compensate the employee who has filed the claim for lost wages, medical expenses, mental stress, and pain and suffering.

In most cases, the United States Department of Justice will become involved in any case that involves retaliation lawsuits.

Unfortunately, there have been many cases in which the United States Justice Department did not object to the charges, even after the employer had provided ample evidence to show that their actions (or inactions) were proper. The result of this is a situation where an innocent employee has been targeted for filing a complaint of wrongful and/or improper conduct. Many times, employers will attempt to justify their actions by pointing to what are known as “discriminatory situations.” Such circumstances may be justified on the basis that the other employee has brought the complaint about, or that the employee has complained about conduct that is related to work-related issues.

Employment attorneys, on the other hand, will point out that such justification is simply not so cut and dried.

Often, employers will attempt to present a line of defense that points to some sort of internal disciplinary action that automatically qualified the employee for the complaint – which would, of course, mean that the complaint was unfounded. In other cases, employers will simply deny all allegations of retaliation lawsuits, pointing out that the United States Department of Justice will not file a complaint against them unless there is sufficient evidence to indicate that the complaint was indeed, all legitimate. It is very difficult for an employment lawyer to prove discrimination or a conspiracy – especially in a situation where the defendant itself will not admit guilt.

Another defense offered by employers is that they are not engaged in any unlawful behavior – that all employees have equal employment opportunities.

However, even if this were true, this could still result in retaliatory conduct. For example, if someone complained about poor work conditions or poor treatment and someone else was involved in creating a complaint regarding such conditions or treatment, this could be considered retaliatory conduct. Employers must always retain a good faith argument to defend against retaliatory claims, and if they do not, they could find themselves facing a number of different retaliatory lawsuits as a result.

If an employee complains about being unfairly treated, whether based on race, gender, age, religion or any other basis, it may be possible for the employer to argue that they had no way of knowing that the employee was not equally qualified for the job.

They can also argue that they were not aware of the fact that the employee had complained until after they had been terminated. If the company merely investigates their own suspicion before firing someone, they will not be guilty of retaliatory behavior. Additionally, if an employee complains about poor treatment, they may be able to establish that their treatment was based on factors that are within their control. This could include things like poor performance, complaints regarding long hours worked or customer complaints.

Before a lawsuit is filed, it is important to remember that there are a number of defenses to retaliation claims.

Generally, employers are required to have a “good faith” argument for their actions, which means that they need to show that they acted reasonably in keeping with the laws of the state. They also need to show that the plaintiff was actually informed of their rights and that they were not given any opportunity to resolve the matter. In addition, there is a rebuttable presumption of negligence, which means that the plaintiff has to rebut any evidence presented which allegedly shows that they would have received a fair trial. While these defenses are often strong, it is important for anyone who feels that they have a retaliation claim to consult a lawyer early on so that they can determine if they have a case or not.