Tips for building your retaliation case

You have a whole host of legal protections at your disposal as an employee. One of them is protection from retaliation and wrongful termination. But this area of the law is complicated, and it can be difficult to understand, especially when you’re just trying to figure out how to get by after facing a negative employment action.

However, there are things that you can do to hold your employer accountable and recover the compensation that you deserve. Let’s look at some of the ways in which you can build your retaliation case:

• Understand the law: First, it’s important to note that you’re only protected from retaliation if you were engaged in a lawful activity and your employer made an adverse employment decision based on that activity. Keep in mind that an adverse employment action isn’t just about wrongful termination, either. It can include a multitude of other actions, such as demotion or reassignment.
• Document everything: Keep records of all conversations you have with your employer and your direct supervisor, making sure you notate the date and the context of the communication.
• Retain your employment records: To defend itself, your employer is probably going to argue that you were a bad employee, thereby justifying the employment action. If you have performance appraisals and other communications that show otherwise, then you can torpedo that defense.
• Talk to witnesses: Your co-workers can be enormously helpful to your case. They can testify as to your work ethic as well as the way you were treated by your employer. So, get their take and make sure that you obtain their contact information.
• Mitigate: Don’t forget that you should be trying to reduce your losses while your claim plays out. Try to secure new employment or obtain additional training so that you can show the court that you’ve tried to reduce your losses. Once you’ve done that, then you can build your case to show the true extent of your damages.

We know that you’re facing a tough time. But there can be a bright future ahead of you. You just have to be proactive in protecting your interests and fighting for accountability. If you think you could use some assistance in that regard, then now may be the time to seek out the support that you need.