A number of laws protect workers from retaliation at work for filing complaints against their employers. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and a number of other labor laws provide explicit protection if an employer tries to cut pay, reduce hours, deny a raise, terminate or otherwise punish an employee for filing a complaint with a union, governmental agency, or court.
Which Complaints are Covered?
There are a wide variety of complaints an employee may choose to file, based on the way the employee is being treated or the safety or unfair treatment of fellow employees. Common subjects of complaints include unsafe or unhealthy conditions in the workplace, unfair wages or overtime policies, public safety hazards, environmental concerns, vacation or sick leave issues, and other violations of federal or state labor or securities laws. Employees who bring complaints about any of these types of violations are protected from employer retaliation by whistleblower laws or anti-retaliation provisions in the laws that create the underlying rights. For example, laws that prohibit discrimination also prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who complain of discrimination or participate in an investigation of a discrimination complaint.
What Should an Employee Do if Retaliated Against?
Employees who feels that their employer is retaliating against them for filing a complaint should consider consulting with an attorney to find out how best to take action to protect themselves. There are time limits for filing these claims that vary by state, so take action soon after any illegal (or potentially illegal) employer activity.
New Jersey's Conscientious Employee Protection Act
Employees in New Jersey are granted whistleblower protection by the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA). According to CEPA, employers are prohibited from any type of retaliatory action against an employee for doing any of the following types of activities:
- disclosing or threatening to disclose any information regarding the employer's violation of a labor law or rule issued by any labor legislation
- providing information or testifying at any investigative hearing or inquiry into possible violations of labor, environmental or other laws by the employer, and
- refusing to participate in any activity policy or practice that the employee believes to be in violation of law.
If you feel that your employer is treating you unfairly because you made a complaint, formal or informal, about any unfair or illegal practices, you should seek the advice of an employment attorney practicing in your state.
