What is considered retaliation in the work place in Texas
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What is considered retaliation in the work place in Texas
Workplace retaliation for reporting manager
Asked on January 30, 2019 under Employment Labor Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
If you reported the manager for one of the forms of illegal discrimination or harassment--that is, based on race, color, national origin, sex, age 40 or over, religion, or disability--then if you suffer negative employment consequences (discipline, demotion, suspension, termination, etc.), that would be illegal discrimination and you could report it to the federal EEOC or your state equal/civil rights agency. The law is clear that if an employee reports one of these forms of harassment or discrimination, the employer may not take action against him or her.
However, if you reported the manager for something else--for incompetence, for example; for generally being insulting, or cruel, or nasty (but not based on one of the above reasons; for stealing from the company; etc.--then you may legally be retaliated against. The law does not require managers or employers to be fair or professional; you can be treated badly, or a manager may be incompetent or frankly awful at his/her job or a total "jerk" and bully, etc. and that is allowable; an employer can (and all too frequently does) allow managers to be bad. And since the manager can be bad in any way that is not a form of specifically made illegal discrimination and the employer can choose to support him or her, you can legally suffer retaliation for reporting a manager unless it was for one of those specifically illegal forms of discrimination or harassment.
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