4 Ways to Handle Retaliation at Work

If you’ve become a victim of retaliation in the workplace, you’re not alone. In fact, around 45% of all complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) involve workplace retaliation.

Workplace retaliation is an insidious form of discrimination, and it is unlawful. Suppose your employer punishes you for taking action against them by intimidating you, firing you, or launching a campaign of harassment against you. In that case, their actions can wreak havoc on your life and even compromise your career.

If you are experiencing workplace retaliation, you can do something about it.

Recognizing Workplace Retaliation

When an employer takes retaliatory action against an employee because they engaged in an activity protected by law, it is deemed unlawful retaliation.

Employees’ protected activities include filing complaints against their employer for discrimination, sexual harassment, whistleblowing, reporting unsafe working conditions, and filing for workers’ compensation.

If you have become a victim of retaliation because you filed for workers’ compensation, there are specific steps you should take. Visit https://hkm.com/kansascity/retaliation/retaliation-filing-workers-comp-claim/ to find out more.

Retaliatory actions include a reduction in pay, demotion, termination, harassment, poor performance reviews, reassignments, and sudden changes to your job duties or benefits.

How to Deal with Workplace Retaliation

Retaliation is taken extremely seriously by the EEOC because it is an infringement on employees’ federally-protected rights.

Employees have the right to file complaints about their employers without fearing for their career or well-being just for speaking out.

If you are experiencing retaliation in your workplace, here are four ways to handle it.

1. Discuss the Situation with Your Employer

While approaching your employer may be intimidating - especially when you’ve filed a complaint against them previously - you need to try and address the issue with HR and your supervisor before filing a formal retaliation complaint.

Many workplace conflicts arise from miscommunication, so there’s a possibility that there’s been a genuine misunderstanding and your employer is not engaged in retaliation. For instance, you may have been reassigned due to legitimate company changes that you were unaware of. The best way to clear up any misunderstandings is to address them directly. However, there are exceptions - your boss could be retaliating against you or they could just be a bully.

If the retaliation you are experiencing makes you believe that your physical or psychological well-being may be harmed by addressing the issue with the person retaliating against you, approach HR immediately.

2. Gather as Much Evidence as Possible

Whenever any retaliatory actions occur, document them immediately. You should also gather other supportive evidence to support your retaliation claim.

An example of supporting evidence may be documents like your previous performance reviews. If all your performance reviews before you filed a complaint against your employer were positive but immediately became negative after you took action, keep them as supporting evidence.

Suppose you were reassigned or demoted immediately after filing a complaint. In that case, the timing of these actions could also support your retaliation claim.

3. Follow the Internal Procedures Laid Out in Your Company Policy

Organizations typically have procedures and protocols to follow when filing a grievance - follow these steps as closely as possible. Typically, the process will be documented in the employee handbook or available from HR.

Again, if you believe that any action you take against the retaliation may put you further in harm’s way, don’t worry about not following the company procedure.

4. Get External Help

If you’ve addressed the problem with HR and your supervisor or are unable to because doing so would cause further harm, seek outside help. This will entail filing a complaint with the EEOC and hiring an employment lawyer to advise you.

An employment lawyer will investigate the retaliation further and give you instructions on how to proceed. Show your employment lawyer any supporting evidence you have gathered, including the documentation of all the acts of retaliation.

The post 4 Ways to Handle Retaliation at Work appeared first on Jobacle.com.

Published July 21, 2022

Boomerang Employees: 5 Ways To Ensure They Come Back Successfully

In todayâs candidate-driven job market, employers are looking to the past to fill todayâs open roles.

Once considered disloyal because they quit for greener pastures, boomerang employees are now very attractive as hiring leaders struggle to fill job vacancies created by pandemic layoffs, the “Great Resignation/Reshuffle,â and increased production. Some boomerang employees may have retired early during the pandemic, but are now hankering for more to their days than golf and CNN. Finally, boomerangs may have been wrongly dismissed, or a change of leadership has softened the gaze of the new hiring leaders. Whatever the reason, boomerang employees are a growing segment of todayâs candidate pool.

As unemployment drops to record-low levels and workers become more selective about their career goals and company mission, sometimes a familiar face is just who you need to see in a hard-to-fill role. Itâs time to eliminate the loyalty issue and bring back some institutional knowledge.

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Rehiring Boomerang Employees From An Employerâs Perspective?

Hiring managers look at each other while interviewing a job candidate

PROS:

Such workers bring industry and institutional knowledge and experience to the job, including the new skills and training they acquired while at another company.
Having experienced other workplaces, boomerangs may be more dedicated to and appreciative of their former employer than they were before.
In cases where clients followed boomerangs to their new companies, those clients may well follow the boomerang back.
Boomerangs can be a good fit when a company needs to fill a position quickly.
If they fit with the employee culture the first time, they will likely fit again.
Their work ethic and the quality of their work are known commodities.
They can typically hit the ground running. Not much training or onboarding is necessary which saves time and money.

CONS

It may cause a morale issue with current staff. Some co-workers resent the rehiring or think itâs unfair. Former teammates need to be part of the conversation before bringing back a past employee, especially if the candidate previously lacked leadership skills or a culture fit.
It can also give the impression that one way to get a promotion is to quit. In other words, work elsewhere and then come back for a bump in paygrade and title.
Workers might expect their previous years of service to count toward the amount of vacation time or paid time off they receive in their new go-round. Be sure to spell out what will happen in an offer letter, or better yet, have a âbridging policyâ in your employee handbook.
A boomerang might struggle to learn new skills or form new relationships if the company has changed significantly since they left.
The candidate might now be coming back as a supervisor for their former peers which may cause resentment. Hiring leaders need to anticipate how employees will adapt to this change.
If the returning employee is retired, returning to work might affect their Social Security payments. They may need to limit their hours or earnings to minimize any tax consequences.
Check the terms of any previous severance package, pension plan, or union agreement that might limit the companyâs ability to rehire a worker. In those cases, both parties may be able to waive or change the terms of the earlier deal.
Security clearance or other certifications may have expired. What is the cost and time involved in reinstating these?

Are You Struggling To Fill Open Roles? Could Boomerang Employees Be An Option For Your Organization?

Manager shakes hands with and congratulates an employee

You likely have former employeesâ contact information in your HRIS, but if not, you can try search engines like Trupeople.com or Zoominfo.com, or LinkedIn.com to track them down.

If you do reengage former employees like my clients from the marketing and financial services industries recently have done, be sure you do not skip steps in your typical hiring process as well as:

Be clear about what may have changed in the organization since their departure (leadership, reorganization, benefits, pay, technology).
Understand more fully why the boomerang left the first time. What was missing in their prior role?
Ask what is motivating them to return. Does that align with why you want to bring them back?
Ask whether the existing team wants them back.
Consider offering a signing bonus paid out in increments as another tool to show a boomerang you want them back to stayâsometimes called a âpay-to-stay bonus.â

Boomerang employees are on the rise; for the most part, itâs a good thing for employers. You can ensure the âsequelâ is better than the original by utilizing a thorough rehiring process.

For more information on boomerang employees, please see the World At Work article âFamiliar Facesâ and listen to my podcast.

Like JoJo Siwa sings, âIâm a come back like a boomerangââhiring leaders need to be ready.