It can be hard to know what to do when you see your employer behaving illegally or unethically. Many Orange County workers have concerns about retaliation if they report illegal activity. Unfortunately, this may be warranted, depending on your company’s culture. However, you are legally protected from this kind of behavior, and you have recourse. You may choose to file a whistleblower alone, or with the help of an Orange County whistleblower retaliation attorney from the Elite Employment Law Firm.
Who is Eligible to File a Retaliation Complaint?
You may be eligible for a retaliation complaint if you are an employee who suffered adverse employment action due to reporting illegal activity at your workplace. This activity may include unchecked discriminatory behaviors, health and safety violations, or other illegal activities. This may include complaints regarding equal pay act violations or pay transparency complaints.
Documentation You Need to File a Whistleblower Retaliation Claim
Filing and winning your claim is contingent upon providing adequate evidence to open an investigation, so gathering relevant information is crucial before making the complaint. Each complaint is screened to determine whether a valid cause exists for opening an investigation. While the Retaliation Complaint Investigation Unit (RCI) will investigate the situation by requesting your employment records and speaking with witnesses, they need a place to start.
This can include e-mails, performance reviews, pay stubs, schedules, and information regarding the complaint they are retaliating against. Once an investigation starts, they will ask you for additional necessary documentation.
Filing Your Whistleblower Retaliation Complaint
Making the decision to fight illegal retaliation and gathering evidence is the difficult part of filing a retaliation claim. You may file your complaint through the Department of Industrial Relations online, in person, or by mail. The complaint form will ask for information, including:
- Have you filed a complaint for various health and safety or labor violations
- The changes that occurred at work that led to your complaint
- Witnesses to the behavior
- A narrative of your concerns
- Additional evidence of your complaint
If you choose to file the complaint in person or by mail, it is often advised to make copies of the information, but keep the original for your records. You can find the Labor Commissioner’s Office location relevant to your employer’s office and send it there.
Ensure You File Timely
As with most legal action, you have a certain amount of time to file a complaint for retaliation. According to the Department of Industrial Relations, retaliation complaints must be filed through the Labor Commissioner within a year of the action. However, the civil statute of limitations may provide more time if you file a lawsuit against your employer, though you may pursue both concurrently.
After You File a Claim
Once you submit your claim, the department will review it and notify you of whether it will open an investigation. If they need anything else from you, they will ask, but beyond that, you simply wait for them to complete the investigation.
Depending on your circumstances and situation with your company, you may be uncertain of how to act at work or what you should and should not say. This is where it can be very helpful to work with an attorney who can help you understand what may help or hurt your situation currently, as well as if you choose to pursue a civil lawsuit.