Atlanta Employment Retaliation Attorneys
Strong advocacy when Georgia employers violate your rights
It’s bad enough when employers discriminate against employees or allow harassment based on a protected characteristic to occur in the workplace. It’s worse when employers retaliate against employees who assert their rights to oppose the discrimination or harassment or who participate in an investigation of a complaint of discrimination of harassment on behalf of another employee.
Retaliation is any materially adverse action or conduct by the employer that punishes you for complaining about how your employer is treating you at work. It’s also illegal. At Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP, our Atlanta employment retaliation attorneys hold employers responsible for employment wrongs and for retaliation. Call us now to discuss your rights and options.
This was my first time having to seek legal counsel on an employment issue so I was a bit nervous about the process. I was referred to Ed Buckley by a friend I respect and trust, and one that has over 20 years of experience in law. Mr. Buckley made the process much less intimidating for me. Many thanks to Mr. Buckley and team for helping me. I'd definitely hire them again. – Google review
Case Evaluation
How can we help?
- What employee conduct is protected from retaliation?
- What employer conduct qualifies as retaliation?
- How can I win a retaliation lawsuit against my employer?
- What laws protect Atlanta employees from retaliation?
- What are my rights if an Atlanta employer retaliated against me?
- Do you have a retaliation employment attorney near me?
What employee conduct is protected from retaliation?
At Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP, we hold employers accountable when they retaliate against workers who assert their rights. Retaliation claims have two key requirements. You must show that you were exercising a legal right. You must also show that the employer took a materially adverse action against you for asserting that legal right.
Assertion of a legal right includes many types of “protected activity” including:
- Filing a discrimination or harassment complaint
- Filing a whistleblower claim
- Filing any other claim based on your employee rights – such as your right to overtime pay, minimum wage, or other wage & hour violations
- Requesting leave based on the Family and Medical Leave Act
- Requesting a reasonable accommodation for a disability
Employees also have the legal right to:
- Be a witness on behalf of another employee
- Be a witness in an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) claim, investigation, or lawsuit
- Speak with a supervisor or management about discrimination or employment in the workplace
- Refuse to participate in discrimination or harassment
- Refuse sexual advances
- Request accommodations for a disability or a religious practice
- Inquire about salary information – to determine if wages are discriminatory
Our Atlanta retaliation attorneys will explain which employee conduct is protected.
What employer conduct qualifies as retaliation?
The EEOC states acts of retaliation may include:
- Giving an employee a performance review that is lower than it should be
- Moving the employee to a less desirable job or location
- Giving the employee more work to do without comparable pay
- Making the ability to do the job well more difficult
- Reporting (or threatening to report) the employee to the police or immigration authorities
- Increasing scrutiny of the employee
- Spreading untrue rumors about the employee
- Treating a family member of the employee negatively – such as refusing to do business with a family member
Other acts of retaliation may include:
- Wrongful termination from a position
- Denying an employee a promotion or raise
- Enacting policies designed to isolate or alienate a specific employee/group of employees
- Changing schedules or work hours, including reducing work hours, to create a “pattern” of missed days for the employee
- Engaging in behaviors or enacting policies designed to force an employee to quit
- Subjecting an employee to reviews that other employees are not required to receive
The U.S. Supreme Court has defined retaliation to include any materially adverse conduct by an employer that would tend to deter reasonable people from pursuing their civil rights. So, if in response to your complaint about race discrimination or sexual harassment, your employer moves you to a less favorable shift, or transfers you to a different location further from your home, you may have a actionable claim for retaliation.
How can I win a retaliation lawsuit against my employer?
In order to prevail in a discrimination case, you have to prove that your employer made a decision based on a protected characteristic, such as your race, age, sex, etc. that was “causally connected” to the adverse employment action that you experienced.
But to prove retaliation, you don't have to prove that you were actually discriminated against and then fired for complaining. All you have to show is that you reasonably believed that you were discriminated against and then subjected to a materially adverse action. Even if you were wrong about the discrimination, if you honestly and reasonably believed you were discriminated against, you can still win the retaliation case.
Our Atlanta employment retaliation lawyers work to show that:
- You were engaged in a “protected activity.”
- The employer treated you adversely/negatively.
- There is a “causal connection” between the protected activity and the adverse action.
Among many actions, we work to compare your negative treatment by your employer to other employees who did not engage in protected activity. We are skilled at showing you were treated worse because you asserted your rights.
What laws protect Atlanta employees from retaliation?
Many laws that protect employees from discrimination or harassment (or grant the employee certain rights) have specific provisions that grant employees the right to protection from retaliation.
Some of these laws are:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
- Georgia Whistleblower Act and other whistleblower acts
- The Equal Pay Act of 1963
- The Fair Labor Standards Act
- The Family and Medical Leave Act
- The Pregnancy Discrimination Act
Related: Supreme Court Wrap-Up: Supremes Rule that Section 1981 Encompasses Claims for Retaliation
What are my rights if an Atlanta employer retaliated against me?
The EEOC states that an employee’s remedies for retaliation may include:
- The issuance of a temporary or permanent injunction to stop the retaliation.
- Compensatory damages – your financial damages such as back pay if you were fired or denied a promotion
- Punitive damages against private employers
- Job reinstatement
- Statutory damages (if applicable) such as back pay, reasonable attorney’s fees, and litigation costs
Our Atlanta employment retaliation attorneys will explain what damages apply in your case.
Do you have a retaliation attorney near me?
Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP is based in Atlanta; our office is located at 600 Peachtree St. NE, Suite 3900. Our employment attorneys conduct phone and video consultations by appointment, and proudly serve clients throughout Georgia, including those in Athens, Augusta, Columbus, Gainesville, Macon, Marietta, and Savannah.
Employers have no right to treat you negatively if you assert your rights. Retaliation is intimidation. Our Atlanta employment law attorneys hold employers accountable when they fail to treat their employees with respect and dignity.
Call our Atlanta employment retaliation attorneys for experienced help now
If you believe that you or someone you know at work has been discriminated against, you don't have to suffer in silence. You can fight back, and we can help you fight back. The experienced Atlanta retaliation attorneys of Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP have decades of experience handling retaliation cases, and we can help you with your case. We understand your rights and your remedies. Our team in Atlanta represents people throughout Georgia. To get started on your case, please call or contact us today.