Employment Lawyers in Charleston, West Virginia

Being treated differently at work or threatened with termination after reporting harassment, discrimination, or safety issues? Retaliation may be to blame. While retaliating against workers is expressly prohibited, sadly, it isn't uncommon. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), retaliation is involved in more than half of the roughly 70,000 complaints the agency receives each year.

Retaliation comes in many different forms in the workplace—and while some types may be glaringly obvious, the more subtle varieties are just as common and potentially even more dangerous. Here's what you should know about West Virginia employment retaliation cases, including how to recognize retaliatory actions and how our exceptional team of attorneys can help you hold your employer accountable.

Workplace Retaliation Is Against the Law

Federal EEOC laws, as well as the West Virginia Human Rights Act, prohibit employers from retaliating against workers for engaging in protected acts, such as:

• Rejecting unwanted sexual advances
• Reporting sexual harassment/hostile work environment
• Reporting unsafe working conditions
• Requesting accommodations for disability or pregnancy
• Reporting patient abuse
• Applying for workers' compensation benefits
• Reporting understaffing at a hospital or other medical facility
• And others

Recognizing On-the-Job Retaliation

While overt acts of retaliation—such as swiftly terminating an employee who had just reported harassment or discrimination—can and do happen, it's a lot more common for employers to engage in the type of subtle behavior that leaves you second-guessing yourself. Examples of workplace retaliation include:

• Demotions
• Assigning you less desirable shifts
• Scheduling you to work with your harasser
• Reduced hours
• Pay cuts
• Subjecting you to increased scrutiny
• Write-ups
• Suspensions
• Layoffs
• Denying you training or advancement opportunities
• Giving you poor performance reviews that are undeserved
• Excluding you from meetings, office functions, activities made available to other employees
• Making your job or position more difficult
• Failing to take prompt corrective action after a report of harassment or discrimination

These are just a few of the many actions that may be considered retaliatory. Not sure if the treatment you're experiencing qualifies? Our experienced employment attorneys can help.

What to Do If You're Facing Retaliation at Work

Working in an environment that's safe and free from harassment, discrimination, and retaliation is your legal right. Don't suffer in silence. If you're being harassed, discriminated or retaliated against, or subjected to a toxic working environment, report it.

• Facing retaliation from a fellow employee? Tell a supervisor or company owner, or report it to the human resources department.
• Facing retaliation from a supervisor or business owner? Report it to a different supervisor or company owner, the human resources department, or a company complaint hotline.

We Can Help You Hold Your Employer Accountable

Your employer is responsible for ensuring a safe workplace that's free of unlawful harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. Whether they're the source of the retaliation, or you're being retaliated against by someone else at your company, the highly skilled legal team with Bailess Law Firm can help you hold your employer accountable and recover the damages you deserve. Depending on the facts and evidence in your case, you may be able to collect damages for lost wages and benefits, emotional distress, and other losses. In rarer instances, judges and juries may award an additional kind of damages—known as punitive damages—to punish employers for particularly egregious conduct.

Talk to Us About Your West Virginia Employment Retaliation Case

Federal and West Virginia employment law is complex and complicated, and holding an employer accountable for unlawful conduct can be challenging. You need compassionate, caring, and capable attorneys to level the playing field and fight tirelessly on your behalf. Fortunately, you've come to the place. Download our book It's Not Your Fault: How to Fight Back Against Sexual Harassment in the Workplace and contact Bailess Law Firm today for a free initial review of your Mountain State employment retaliation claim.

Facing a barrage of unwanted sexual advances; requests for sexual favors; and sexually suggestive jokes, comments, and innuendos can be harmful and degrading no matter where it happens. Unfortunately, sexual harassment that occurs at work is particularly insidious because it relies on an imbalanced power dynamic and the fear that you could lose your job or income to make you feel trapped and hopeless.

Here's what your harasser doesn't want you to know: You don't have to put up with sexual harassment in the workplace. A skilled employment attorney can help you take action to hold your employer accountable.

At Bailess Law Firm, we know how difficult it can be to come forward with such personal experiences. Our compassionate and understanding employment lawyers are here to make the process as easy as possible. Here's how we can assist you.

Help You Understand Your Legal Rights and Options

Harassers work hard to make you feel like you don't have any power. However, both state and federal laws protect workers from being sexually harassed on the job. You have the right to work in an environment that's safe and free from unlawful harassment or discrimination. If you were targeted for sexual harassment at work or were subjected to a hostile work environment, we can help you understand your legal rights and options for seeking damages.

Gather Important Evidence

Gathering evidence to support your claim is essential but, for some sexual harassment survivors, doing so can be difficult, time consuming, or even traumatic. We are here to help. In addition to gathering evidence like texts or emails, we can also get statements from others who witnessed or were affected by the harassment, and interview experts to assess the scope of the damages you suffered.

Level the Playing Field

A workplace sexual harassment claim can pit you against an employer's high-powered corporate legal team. Having an experienced employment attorney to represent you throughout litigation levels the playing field, and sends the message that you're serious about your case and receiving fair damages for it.

Prove Your Claim and Help You Recover Damages

Recovering damages for employment sexual harassment requires proving that the conduct in question was unlawful. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature may be considered harassment when:

• Submission is explicitly or implicitly made a condition of your employment
• Submission or rejection is used as the basis for employment decisions
• Conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with work performance, or creating a hostile, intimidating, or offensive work environment

While what you recover is highly dependent on the facts and evidence in your case, potential damages include lost wages and benefits, related medical costs, and emotional distress damages.

Believe, Support, and Encourage You Throughout the Legal Process

When you're taking legal action to hold an employer accountable for sexual harassment, you need employment attorneys who can serve dual roles as fierce legal advocates, and kind and conscientious counselors. Bailess Law Firm does exactly that. We're here to provide a safe space for you to share your experiences and get the legal services—as well as the protection, guidance, encouragement, validation, and support—you need. However, while you see our softer side, we're known for diligently fighting for our clients at the negotiations table and in the courtroom. We are here for you when you need us, every single step of the way.

Talk to Us About Your Case

Contact Bailess Law Firm today to schedule an appointment for a complimentary review of your West Virginia workplace sexual harassment case. We'll work to determine if your case and our firm are a good fit, but don't worry about the fee. If we accept your case, you pay nothing, ever. That's our guarantee.

Unfortunately, it's possible. West Virginia law does not require employers to provide employees with sick leave benefits of any kind. Because of at-will employment laws, employers in the Mountain State can fire workers at any time, for any reason—or even no reason at all.

However, there are some exceptions. For example, the firing can't be done in retaliation for an employee engaging in a protected activity—such as reporting sexual harassment, hostile work environment, or safety issues—or violate other anti-discrimination laws. Also, when employers choose to provide workers with sick leave benefits, they're required to abide by the terms established in the company policy or employment contract. In some cases, the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may provide some protection.

Were you fired for taking time off when you were injured or ill? Depending on the circumstances, you may be entitled to damages. Here's what you should know about West Virginia workplace retaliation cases, including how the exceptional employment attorneys at Bailess Law Firm can help you understand your rights and explore your options for taking legal action.

Recognizing Retaliation: When it Isn't Really About Sick Leave

While an employer may be able to fire you for calling out sick if you don't have any kind of sick leave benefits, there are times when that kind of harsh employment decision is motivated by more than just an unexcused absence. Consider the timing. Did your termination for an injury or illness-related work absence happen after you:

• Reported sexual harassment or a hostile work environment
• Reported other types of illegal employment discrimination
• Reported unsafe practices or safety violations
• Participated in an investigation of workplace sexual harassment, safety violations, or other unlawful discrimination
• Filed a claim alleging discrimination?

If so, you should also examine the way you were treated before being fired. Were you:

• Demoted
• Transferred to a less desirable position, schedule, or location
• Scheduled to work with someone you reported for sexual harassment or discrimination
• Denied a promotion or pay raise
• Subjected to verbal or physical abuse
• Targeted for increased scrutiny
• Given an unfairly negative performance review

What you experienced might be workplace retaliation. Talking to a seasoned employment attorney is the best way to determine if you have grounds to move forward with a claim or lawsuit.

A Quick Word About the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

You may have heard that the FMLA allows workers to take unpaid leave for medical or family reasons without losing their jobs. However, the truth is a lot more complicated. The FMLA only applies to private-sector employers that employ 50 or more people—and to be protected by the law, you must have worked for your employer for at least a year and for a minimum number of hours. The law also specifies the situations in which FMLA leave can be used. Talk to one of our attorneys to find out whether this law applies to your case.

What You Could Recover and What You Have to Prove in a West Virginia Employment Retaliation Case

Potential damages in an employment retaliation case are wide-ranging and may include lost pay and emotional distress. In order to secure fair damages, you and your attorney will have to prove that:

• You experienced (or witnessed) illegal harassment or discrimination
• You engaged in a protected activity (such as reporting harassment)
• Your employer responded with a negative employment action (firing you)
• You suffered damages as a result

Ready to find out how the caring and capable legal team with Bailess Law Firm can help you hold your employer accountable for retaliation?

Schedule a Complimentary Case Review

Contact us today to request a free, no-obligation review of your case.