Wisconsin employees are often forced into difficult situations when dealing with unlawful behavior at work — suffer through it, or report it and face possible retaliation. Employment law is clear that employers may not retaliate against workers who bring misconduct to their attention. Unfortunately, an untold number of Wisconsin workers continue to face volatile work environments for trying to report unlawful incidents or behaviors.
Many worker complaints involve reports of harassment, wage and hour discrepancies — especially missing overtime pay — and discrimination. Many more issues might be at stake during a worker complaint, though. These might include any of the following and more:
- Requests for disability accommodations
- Opposition to financial fraud that impacts shareholders
- OSHA workplace violation reports
- Filing workers’ compensation claims
- Intervening in the filing of fraudulent claims to the government
Although most people associate retaliation with wrongful terminations, it can take the form of many different actions. For instance, a person might be demoted or transferred to an undesirable position or workplace location. Others might experience retaliation in the form of unfairly negative performance reviews that stunt their growth opportunities at the company. Some employers even purposely create hostile work environments for employees who report unsavory business practices.
Since retaliation can be subtle and may vary from person to person, demonstrating that such retaliation occurred can be difficult. We understand the nuances of Wisconsin employment law and how it applies to workplace retaliation. Our firm has tirelessly upheld the rights of retaliation victims by guiding them through the understandably overwhelming process of seeking just compensation from their employers.