How you can prove employer retaliation

Facing retaliation by your employer is not easy. This can make it very difficult for you to get up and go to work each day. You likely don’t want to face your supervisor and might start burning through your sick and personal days, putting you behind on your work. Let’s explore how you can prove employer retaliation.

The signs you should be on the lookout for regarding retaliation include the following:

• Being demoted
• Firing or termination
• Being disciplined for no reason
• Being excluded from staff meetings all of a sudden
• Reduction in salary
• Being reassigned to a new shift
• An unexpected negative performance review

In order to prove employer retaliation, you will need to show the following:

• You were taking part in a protected activity
• Action was taken against you by your employer
• There is a causal link between the action you took and the action taken by your employer

The most important thing you need to understand when trying to prove employer retaliation is that there was a consequence present and not a coincidence. For example, if the entire department or team on which you were working was terminated, it will be very difficult for you to prove retaliation even if you claimed you were being discriminated or retaliated against.

Employer retaliation is a serious problem that many employees face every year in California despite the laws in place offering employee protection. Be sure you document every action taken against you that could be viewed as retaliation, so you can prove your claim with human resources or if you decide to take legal action.