Too often, employees are anxious to approach their employer with concerns or questions about their working conditions, for fear that their employer will impose some kind of penalty for their having done so. Unfortunately, in many cases those fears are well-founded, as employees who have raised a complaint or made an inquiry about their rights begin to experience noticeable changes in their working conditions soon after.

While it may seem obvious that an employer cannot fire or discipline an employee for asserting their rights, it’s important to know that the law also prevents employers from imposing other, more subtle penalties upon employees for having done so. Singling an employee out for criticism, reducing their hours, or withholding job or career growth opportunities can all be subtle forms of reprisal. Even the threat of punishment can amount to reprisal.

Employees also don’t always realise which of their own actions are protected from reprisal. Significant actions like filing a complaint with a human rights tribunal or labour relations board are protected from being punished, but so are smaller steps like asking about how overtime or vacation pay is being calculated, or insisting on following every step of a safety procedure that others would prefer to shorten. Even action that normally would be punishable, like refusing to comply with an employer’s direction, may be protected if it was done with the aim of asserting a right in the workplace.

If you have experienced a decrease in your working conditions since raising a question, complaint or issue about your workplace rights, Cassandra can help you determine whether your situation constitutes prohibited employer reprisal, and what processes and potential remedies may be available. Even if you want to take action over a right in the workplace but haven’t yet, Cassandra can support you by outlining what your rights are, how and with whom you can bring up issues surrounding them, as well as what to look out for and what to do in case your employer does decide to retaliate.

Depending on your circumstances and the nature of your employer’s behaviour, a court or tribunal may find that you’re entitled to lost wages, human rights or other damages. Other remedies, like reinstatement or severance pay for employees who were terminated for seeking their rights, may also be available to you. An employer that retaliates against an employee for asserting their rights is using their power in the employment relationship to skirt the law at the expense of the individual employees who wield far less power, and usually have much more limited resources to fight back. Having an employment lawyer like Cassandra on your team helps even the playing field to keep you, your rights and your livelihood safe.