One of the more common wrongful termination scenarios that Kaiser employees seem to face is retaliation for complaining about patient safety or other violations of safety and patient care. It’s easy for management to retaliate against registered nurses or nursing assistants, and it’s as easy as finding minor job related…
Articles Posted in Retaliation
Illegal Workplace Retaliation Claims based on FEHA (Fair Employment and Housing Act)
It is well established that a retaliation claim may be brought by an employee who has complained of or opposed conduct that the employee reasonably believes to be discriminatory, even when a court later determines the conduct was not actually prohibited by FEHA. Strong policy considerations support this rule. Employees…
California Employment Law: Proving Retaliation at Workplace
One of the challenges of proving retaliation at workplace in cases where an employee was fired shortly after submitting a harassment/discrimination/safety violation complaint against his/her supervisor or co-workers is showing that the employer knew about the complaint before making the decision to terminate an employee. After all, if the employer…
Retaliation for Suffering an Injury and Filing a Workers Compensation Claim
Having been prosecuting discrimination and retaliation claims for a while now, I am naturally curious to get into the minds of those managers who retaliate or discriminate against employees who are disabled or who suffered an on-the-job injury (and filed a workers compensation claim). Recently, during a conversation with an…
FAQ: What can I do about favoritism at my workplace?
I get at least a few calls a week where an employee complains to me about being treated unfairly at workplace. these complaints range from being given more challenging and time consuming tasks than co-workers to being yelled at by the manager to being micromanaged and written up for every…
Employees who Make Oral Complaints Labor Law Violations May Be Protected from Retaliation
On March 22, 2011, the United States Supreme Court published an important opinion on retaliation law, holding that oral as well as written complaints about wage and labor law violations are protected activities as far as retaliatory discipline or firing go. In Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. the plaintiff…
The US Supreme Court Allows a Third Party Retaliation Claim to Go Forward
Reversing the lower court’s decision, the US Supreme Court, in Thompson v. North American Stainless LP, a third party retaliation claim proceed. In that case, both the Plaintiff and his fiance worked for the Defendant. Shortly after Plaintiff’s fiancee filed sex discrimination charge with EEOC against the employer, Plaintiff was…
California Family Rights Act / FMLA Retaliation Claims
Under CFRA (California Family Rights Act), an employer is generally required to grant an eligible employee’s request to take up to a total of 12 workweeks in any 12-month period for family care and medical leave. CFRA or FMLA leave may be taken because of an employee’s own serious health…
Additional Protections Against Retaliation to California Nurses and Medical Staff
Besides other federal and California workplace anti-retaliation laws available to different groups of employees, nurses and other medical professionals working at hospital, clinics, and other healthcare facilities have additional law in California that protects them from retaliation. Under section 1278.5 of California Health and Safety Code, the employers may not…
Proving Workplace Retaliation in California
Retaliation against employees for exercising their rights or complaining about unlawful conduct of their employer is common. However, proving retaliation in California presents unique legal and factual challenges, as employers almost never simply admit that they retaliated against an employee. One California court discusses and provides excellent guidance on proving…