Is this a case of Retaliation?
I reported my manager to the Executive Director for what I felt were unethical payroll issues. Since that time my job has changed dramitically. It is getting to be what I feel is unbearable. The thing that gets me the most is I work in HR / Payroll. The Manager I turned in is the HR Manager. I am considering seeing a Lawyer.
1 answer | asked Jul 6, 2003 7:00 PM [EST] | applies to Arizona
Answers (1)
It may be retaliation, but so what?
I cannot know for sure what motivated your employer to make your working conditions unbearable. Assuming it was your reporting of the HR manager (which you would have the burden of proving), this does not necessarily give you any legal recourse.
A "public policy wrongful discharge" occurs when an employer fires someone for reasons that violate public policy. Whistleblowing (at least in Arizona) is the reporting of unlawful conduct to either an appropriate representative of the employer or to a government agency that can deal with the reported conduct. Firing someone for "whistleblowing" is a form of wrongful discharge.
You reported what you describe as "unethical payroll issues." That doesn't tell me whether any illegal conduct was involved or whether the conduct was merely unseemly. Reporting conduct that may violate company standards but is not illegal does not involve any kind of public policy, and so it is not considered "whistleblowing."
Making an employee's job unbearable may amount to a constructive discharge, i.e. doing things so that the employee will quit is the same as firing the employee. The standard for proving constructive discharge is both an objective and subjective standard. A reasonable person in your situation would have to feel he or she has no alternative but to quit (the objective standard). You must actually quit to make it a constructive discharge (subjective standard). Adverse action by the employer, such as demotion, poor performance evaluation, denial of promotion, etc. are not enough to form the basis of a retaliation lawsuit unless they amount to a violation of a specific antiretaliation statute such as you will find in the various civil rights laws.
Although you may not have any legal recourse at this point, it might be worthwhile to talk to an attorney about the facts in greater detail. Perhaps a letter to your employer expressing your concerns might keep the problem from becoming one of wrongful discharge.
posted by Francis Fanning | Jul 7, 2003 2:37 PM [EST]
I cannot know for sure what motivated your employer to make your working conditions unbearable. Assuming it was your reporting of the HR manager (which you would have the burden of proving), this does not necessarily give you any legal recourse.
A "public policy wrongful discharge" occurs when an employer fires someone for reasons that violate public policy. Whistleblowing (at least in Arizona) is the reporting of unlawful conduct to either an appropriate representative of the employer or to a government agency that can deal with the reported conduct. Firing someone for "whistleblowing" is a form of wrongful discharge.
You reported what you describe as "unethical payroll issues." That doesn't tell me whether any illegal conduct was involved or whether the conduct was merely unseemly. Reporting conduct that may violate company standards but is not illegal does not involve any kind of public policy, and so it is not considered "whistleblowing."
Making an employee's job unbearable may amount to a constructive discharge, i.e. doing things so that the employee will quit is the same as firing the employee. The standard for proving constructive discharge is both an objective and subjective standard. A reasonable person in your situation would have to feel he or she has no alternative but to quit (the objective standard). You must actually quit to make it a constructive discharge (subjective standard). Adverse action by the employer, such as demotion, poor performance evaluation, denial of promotion, etc. are not enough to form the basis of a retaliation lawsuit unless they amount to a violation of a specific antiretaliation statute such as you will find in the various civil rights laws.
Although you may not have any legal recourse at this point, it might be worthwhile to talk to an attorney about the facts in greater detail. Perhaps a letter to your employer expressing your concerns might keep the problem from becoming one of wrongful discharge.
posted by Francis Fanning | Jul 7, 2003 2:37 PM [EST]
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