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Do you know of harmful or unsafe conditions in your workplace? Are you scared of speaking out against harmful conditions or practices?
Whistleblower complaints often require an expert eye. At Gardner Employment Law, we can advise you if your employer has retaliated against you. Read on to learn more.
How Are Whistleblowers Protected from Retaliation?
Whistleblowers may be protected from retaliation but only if you have specific elements of proof. And that depends on the wording of each statute.
You must look to federal law if you work for a private business. In Texas, only whistleblowers who are employed by the government are fully protected under state law against retaliation.
Here are some of the federal statutes that protect whistleblowers:
- Sarbanes-Oxley Act – fraud claims based on finances
- OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) – unsafe working conditions
- False Claims Act – fraud against the government
Whistleblower complaints vary depending on facts, who you work for, and the nature of your complaint. Usually, a whistleblower complaint must be filed with a federal agency before going to court.
This area of the law is such a quagmire that it pays to have an employment lawyer who specializes in whistleblowers claims to analyze your situation.
What Is Whistleblower Retaliation?
In the legal sense, retaliation occurs if your employer takes an adverse action against you because you filed a whistleblower complaint. DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal published a study which found that “approximately two thirds of the whistleblowers in [the] study” faced retaliation.
Of those two thirds, their retaliations varied. The data discussed in the article is visualized below:
While laws protect employees from retaliation, employers sometimes still retaliate. If that happens to you, you will likely obtain a remedy only after you have proved your case in court. Not an easy task.
What Does Whistleblower Retaliation Look Like?
Here is a real life case in which employees in Houston, Texas, were terminated after they reported extreme health concerns.
Two construction employees reported to OSHA that their employers caused the following dangerous situations:
- Improper waste management of asbestos
- Lack of training to handle asbestos
- No protective equipment
- No required asbestos certification
After they filed the OSHA report, the Houston-based construction companies fired the two employees.
OHSA ruled in favor of the two employees explaining that their claims were protected under the following acts:
- Clean Air Act
- Solid Waste Disposal Act
- Toxic Substances Control Act
Due to the illegal termination, the companies were required to reinstate the employees and pay them over $200,000 in compensatory and punitive damages, back pay and interest.
What to Do If Your Employer Retaliated Against You After You Blew the Whistle
Filing a complaint about harmful conditions at work is a protected act. If your employer fired you after making a whistleblower complaint, allow an expert employment lawyer to determine if the termination was legal or retaliatory. We’re glad to help you get answers.