Employers can’t treat employees in any way they desire. There are laws on the books that limit what employees have to deal with while they’re at work. For example, employers cannot retaliate against an employee because they took a protected action.
Actions that are covered in the law include filing complaints against the employer due to violations of laws or regulations, participating in investigations for those types of complaints and refusing to participate in acts relating to discrimination or harassment.
Retaliation is any negative employment action taken as a reaction to a covered act. These actions can include things like pay cuts, termination, shift changes and similar decisions. The key to these is that they are all meant to make life harder for the employee.
Negative employment actions by an employer are still permissible if they’re in response to something like poor performance or violations of company policy.
For example, an employee who complained about sexual harassment could still be terminated if they don’t show up for work and don’t call in, as long as termination is an allowable penalty for that violation of company policy.
Any employee who believes they’ve been the victim of retaliation should speak up. You have legal rights that protect you against this type of treatment by your employer or its representatives. Discuss your case with someone who’s familiar with these situations so you can take action in accordance with California law. Doing this quickly is imperative so you don’t miss critical time limits that are built into the law.