When an employee experiences discrimination or retaliation at work it often takes the form of an adverse employment action, such as wrongful termination. The goal is to punish an employee for exercising their protected rights and intimidate other employees from making or supporting similar claims. An adverse employment action may include demotions, lowering an employees pay by not promoting, reassignment to less desirable duties, harassment, wrongful termination and more.
In Wisconsin, employment is at-will, meaning an employer can terminate employees without cause at any time during their employment unless contracted otherwise. There are, however, some exceptions to this rule including employment discrimination and retaliation:
Employment Discrimination – Employers are prohibited from engaging in employment discrimination, which includes firing an employee on the basis of sex, race, religious affiliation or other protected classes.
Retaliation – An employer may not fire an employee for reporting workplace safety issues, or violations of laws or regulations. These violations of law may include firing an employee for reporting discrimination including sexual harassment or terminating an employee because they filed a workers’ compensation claim or took FMLA leave.
When an employee believes they are subject to discrimination or retaliation in the workplace it is important to document an employer’s discriminatory or retaliatory actions, which may include, but is not limited to, the employer cutting an employee’s hours, reducing salary, denying bonuses, denying benefits, demotion, refusing to train, reassignment to difficult assignments, excessive workloads, denied accommodations, negative reviews, employment termination and physical or verbal harassment on the job.
Severity and impact can be important when defining an adverse employment action – mere annoyances may not qualify. If an employee is reassigned, for example, and there is no change in pay, schedule or workload, it may be difficult to prove tangible harm even if an employee suspects the reassignment is retaliatory or discriminatory in nature. It is important to work with an experienced employment law attorney to discuss the specifics of your case to determine what legal options are available.
Legal Standard to Prove Employment Discrimination and Retaliation
There are some factors that are necessary in order to prove that an adverse employment action was motivated by discrimination:
- The employee is part of a protected class
- His or her job performance met expectations
- The employee was treated differently from their coworkers
The factors necessary to prove that an adverse employment action was motivated by retaliation include:
- The employee participated in a protected activity such as making a claim of workplace discrimination
- The employer was aware of the employee’s participation
- Participating in the protected activity contributed to the adverse employment action
Contact an Experienced Employment Law Attorney
If you are in a protected class and have suffered workplace discrimination, or have been retaliated against after making a complaint of wrongdoing at your workplace, it is important to work with an experienced employment law attorney who can advise you on the strength of your case and, where warranted, seek compensation on your behalf for any damages you have suffered to include back pay, front pay, compensatory damages (pain and suffering, emotional distress or emotional harm, harm to reputation, medical bills, job search costs, and other out-of-pocket expenses), punitive damages, attorney costs and fees. Contact the employment law offices of Alan C. Olson & Associates P.C. to discuss your case today at 262-785-9606.
