San Bernardino Employment Lawyer

San Bernardino Employment Attorney

When it comes to issues in your workplace, the last thing you want to deal with is hostility from your employer. Advocating for yourself as an employee is crucial to creating a safe working environment, especially when ensuring your financial stability, and any kind of retaliation, harmful treatment, or discrimination from your employer can be difficult to handle alone.

Employment law statutes are put into place to ensure that your rights as a worker are upheld, especially in times when these rights are infringed upon by your employer. For reliable employment law specialists in the San Bernardino area, Clark Employment Law is here to help.

How Do Retaliation, Discrimination, and Harassment Differ?

One of the biggest aspects of employment law deals with the delineation between retaliation, discrimination, and harassment. Retaliation, as it’s legally known, is any action that an employer takes to indirectly harm or punish an employee.

These instances are usually the result of the employee speaking up about certain workplace issues, like sexual assault or harassment, and are used as punitive measures to prevent further investigation into these events. Discrimination, on the other hand, is targeted harassment or suppression based on characteristics like race, gender, religion, age, or sexual orientation and can lead to retaliatory behaviors.

Harassment is a certain form of discrimination that includes direct actions and unwelcome advances based on the characteristics outlined above. For example, sexual harassment is one of the biggest problems in the American workforce, causing both women and men to feel targeted in the workplace.

Often used as a way to encourage employees to do certain things or actions in return for job stability, promotions, or employment requests made by an employee, sexual harassment by coworkers or management is a coercive tactic placing individuals in precarious positions that make them feel unsafe about speaking up. Coming forward with sexual harassment claims, then, can potentially provoke or incite retaliation from one’s employer, who may be attempting to suppress or cover up their experiences.

What Counts as Retaliation in San Bernardino?

Retaliation can come in many forms and is often the result of an employee voicing concerns about a workplace or speaking up about unfair treatment. From small management decisions like enforcing previously defunct business standards with harsh discipline to outright discrimination, retaliation contains a wide array of wrongdoings that can be committed by an employer. Some of the most common forms of retaliation in the workplace involve:

• Wrongful Termination: Wrongful termination is one of the biggest exercises of retaliation made by an employer and can become one of the biggest hurdles to overcome when combating employer retaliation. Although California is an at-will state, meaning that an employer can terminate your employment with or without reason, retaliation based on coming forward with any workplace issues that led to your separation can be valid grounds for a wrongful termination case.
  For some workers, certain contractual obligations can prevent an at-will firing, however. If no prior warnings or disciplinary actions were taken to correct the behavior described in your termination, you can file a wrongful termination suit.
• Pay Suppression: Having a stable income from your job is key to maintaining your financial stability, and changes to this steady flow of income can severely impact your financial planning. Pay suppression or any significant forms of pay manipulation made by your employer as a result of you speaking about workplace problems is a blatant form of retaliation.Any changes in pay, on both the salary and hourly level, without prior knowledge or adequate reasoning, are all major forms of pay suppression and, when made after speaking about workplace issues, can be labeled as a form of retaliation.
• Targeted Harassment: Harassment in the workplace is never acceptable, especially when that harassment is in response to reporting other workplace grievances. For example, if an employee were to come forward with sexual assault allegations against a member of the managing team and subsequently sees an increase in bullying from other coworkers and management, this can be quantified as a form of retaliation.Singling out or treating an employee unfairly for certain characteristics or behaviors, especially after coming forward about specific workplace behaviors, is a blatant form of harassment and should not be tolerated.
• Demotions: As an employee, especially a tenured employee, your status and position at work is a title you can be proud of. A demotion of any kind is a serious hit on your work reputation and your financial standing.When it comes to employment law and retaliation, seemingly unplanned demotions, especially after trying to report any issues at your workplace, can be a sign of retaliation. Facing a demotion or position shift after speaking up about any workplace misconduct is a retaliation tactic used by employers as a punitive measure against employees.

Sadly, retaliation is becoming too common a part of working in the workforce. Employers look to silence their employees who speak out against workplace issues, especially in cases where the reputation of the employer may be at risk.

Retaliation, in some instances, is subtle or can go unnoticed. However, all instances of workplace retaliation should be handled as soon as they happen. With the help of an expert legal team well-versed in employment law, these acts of retaliation can be accurately pursued in court, helping you restore your peace of mind on the job.

How Do I Handle Sexual Harassment in the Workplace?

Sexual harassment is an extremely stressful situation, especially when concerning upper-level management and advances from powerful coworkers. The legal definition of sexual harassment is any unwarranted sexual advances made by another person. When it comes to workplace sexual harassment, advances made by coworkers, management, or higher-level executives as a way to assert power over you or to coerce you into certain behaviors are instances of sexual harassment.

In some instances, a member of a management team can put you in a position to believe that performing a sexual favor will get you a higher-paid position or title. However, the range of actions that can be qualified as sexual assault can vary. Your story matters, and your job should not be on the line for coming forward with your story.

Dealing with sexual assault in the workplace can be exceptionally taxing, both mentally and emotionally, and this can take a toll on your work performance. Between working up the courage to speak out or just going to work, the burden that sexual assault can have on your life is immense.

Bringing these allegations forward, however, is an extremely tricky process and can be met with hostility from your employer. Fortunately, with the right legal team, you can be sure that these allegations turn into action, and any backlash faced from reporting your sexual assault can be properly dealt with in a court of law.

FAQs About San Bernardino Employment Law

How Much Does an EDD Lawyer Cost?

Depending on your case, as well as your case’s level in terms of arguing, your fees can range drastically. Smaller, more contained cases typically cost less when compared to larger trials that tend to rack up higher legal fees, but the severity of each case will ultimately determine the price.

What Can an Employment Lawyer Help With?

When it comes to your employment lawyer, their expertise in the field is your best asset. In all legal situations, knowing what rights were violated is key to creating a viable claim, but some areas of employment law may not be as apparent as others. Fortunately, with a well-equipped legal team, you can be sure that your case is properly handled.

How Much Do San Bernardino Employment Attorneys Cost?

A bulk of your legal fees come from paying your attorneys and legal team. However, the length and escalation of your trial is the biggest determining factor towards the total cost of your case. For smaller mediations or issues that can be handled in a meeting with lawyers, the price of your caseload can decrease.

What Is the Role of an Employment Lawyer?

With any legal proceeding, your lawyer is the guiding force behind organizing, delivering, and evaluating your claim. From providing you with support throughout your trial to supplying the legal expertise needed to properly argue your case, your lawyer is there to help you through the process of seeking justice for the problems you face at work.

Finding an Employment Lawyer for Your Case

Coming forward with any instance of workplace harassment or mistreatment should not cost you your job, especially when the incident is a threat to your safety and well-being. Discrimination, harassment, and retaliation are all serious actions taken by your employer, and all have the right to be addressed and dealt with properly.

Filing a claim against your employer for instances of sexual harassment, wrongful termination, or blatant workplace discrimination starts with a competent legal team able to take on your case. In the San Bernardino area, no other firm compares to the expertise of Clark Employment Law. For more information, as well as information about our firm, visit our website and schedule a free consultation with our team today.