In our previous blog, "How to Successfully litigate your Sexual Harassment Claim In California Court" we discussed a few factors that play a role in litigating your sexual harassment claim and/or your retaliation claim. It is unfortunate that retaliation is far more common than we can imagine. Our Orange County Law Firm receives an abundance of calls wherein people feel they were retaliated against by being wrongfully terminated for reporting to their employer an incident or incidents of sexual harassment.
Examples of conduct that may give rise to a Viable Retaliation claim include, but are not limited to, the following:
•reporting sexual harassment or other legally-recognized harassment or discrimination.
• filing a complaint with (or who otherwise discloses information to) a government or law enforcement agency (Example: Filing a complaint with the Labor Board or disclosing information to the Labor Board during the investigation of another employee's complaint).
•complaining internally about not receiving overtime pay, proper rest breaks or lunches, wages or generally any other wage and hour related matter.
• intendending to file a worker's compensation claim.
The above examples illustrate a few types of conduct which may give rise to claims for retaliation. Please note that these examples are not all-inclusive. There are other circumstances which may protect you from retaliation.
When an employee files a claim for retaliation generally gives rise to the following damages:
• compensatory damages
• emotional distress damages
• punitive damages
• In some cases, reimbursement of attorney fees and costs.
In sum, retaliation can be hard to prove if you do not have the proper legal representation. Every county and every courthouse handles cases differently. It is very imperative to have an experienced attorney who is familiar with employment law in California so that you may achieve the best outcome possible.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of retaliation, please contact our office and we will gladly assist you and determine if legal action is appropriate. Please contact our Orange County Office for a free consultation to discuss your rights and options.
Please look for our post next week, I will be discussing the next component on, "How to Successfully litigate your Sexual Harassment Claim in California Courts."
