Tag Archive for: employment law

Employment Claim

Can An Employer Fire You for Filing a Complaint?

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There’s a lot of incorrect information floating around the topic of at-will employment. There’s a common belief that at-will employment means that employees can be fired for anything at any time—which often makes employees with legitimate complaints stay quiet for fear of retaliation. As an Alabama employee, it’s important to know your rights and how to protect them.

If you think you’ve been targeted by your employer after making a formal complaint, you may have a legal case against them. Call McPhillips Shinbaum at 334-262-1911 to set up your free case evaluation now.

Employee Rights and Protections in Alabama

Employees in Alabama are protected by a number of state and federal laws. Legislators recognize that employees are often at a disadvantage in the workplace. Employers know that employees rely on their income and that threatening their income can force them to fall in line. Employees need legal protections since expecting employers to do the right thing is simply not a viable option.

While it’s true that Alabama is an at-will employment state, there are many legal protections that forbid employers from taking action against employees for specific reasons. For example, Title VII protects discrimination against employees based on national origin, sex, color, religion, and race. 

Title VII also forbids employers from retaliating against employees who file complaints or cooperate with investigations. Additionally, employees over the age of 40 are protected from age-based discrimination. Other relevant pieces of legislation include the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Alabama has several state-specific laws protecting employees. The whistleblower protection statute protects employees from being fired when they refuse to obey an illegal order. Additionally, there’s a public policy exception to the state’s at-will employment law. This means that employees cannot be terminated if it would be against an established state public policy.

How Employers May Retaliate

There are numerous ways employers may retaliate when an employee files a complaint. Obviously, termination is a common outcome. Employers may explain away your termination with flimsy complaints about your performance or claim that they are simply downsizing. They may also demote you, which often comes with a significant reduction in pay and a major hit to your reputation at work. 

Employers may reduce an employee’s hours or pay; similarly, they may swap your hours to less favorable hours. For example, an employee who has long worked 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. may suddenly find themselves scheduled for overnight shifts. Other forms of retaliation include negative work evaluations and attempts to create an uncomfortable or hostile work environment.

Proving Retaliation

To take action against an employer that is retaliating against you, you must be able to prove that their actions were retaliation. Consider these steps:

  • Document everything: The more evidence you have to back up your claims, the harder it will be for your employer to claim that they were simply taking action against your poor work. From the moment you file your complaint, write down every interaction you have that indicates you may be a victim of retaliation. Additionally, whenever you communicate with your employer and they appear to be going against the policy, ask them to provide their instructions in writing. Verbal conversations are far harder to prove.
  • Know your company’s policies: Know your company’s policies to the letter. This allows you to document when your superiors are going against company policy or ordering you to do so.
  • Recognize your allies: If there are coworkers or others at your work who have seen your employer take action against you, know who you can rely on. Your attorney may be able to talk to them and use their testimony as evidence in your case.
  • Talk to an employment attorney: An employment attorney can help you hold your employer accountable and fight for fair treatment.

Start Your Case Now with McPhillips Shinbaum

The sooner you begin working with the team at McPhillips Shinbaum, the sooner we can fight for justice in your employment case. Call our team at 334-262-1911 or send us a message online to set up a consultation now.

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Your Protection Against Disability Discrimination

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Bill Thomas was general manager at Birmingham sports-talk radio station WJOX-FM when he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He was dismissed from his job just six days after informing his superiors, although he felt able to continue working as usual.

Mr. Thomas is suing the owner of the radio station, Cumulus Media, for wrongful termination in federal court. He seeks reinstatement into his position, back pay from when he was fired, legal fees and other damages.

What are my rights if my employer discriminates against me?

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, an employer is prohibited from discriminating against an employee or candidate for employment on the basis of his or her disability when making decisions concerning promotion, hiring, pay, dismissal or other issues. Under federal law, you could be defined as having a disability for:

  • A mental or physical impairment that hinders your everyday functions substantially, such as walking, eating, seeing, speaking, lifting or working
  • A record of having such an impairment
  • Being someone perceived as having such an impairment

Mr. Thomas’ bosses seemed to terminate his employment because of their perception that his medical condition would limit his ability to carry out his work duties. If so, this would constitute a breach of federal discrimination laws. An employer may have a defense in certain situations, such as if your disability stems from an infectious disease that presents a health risk to others.

What compensation can I get from my employer?

If your employer has breached its duty not to discriminate against you for your disability, you can sue for compensatory and punitive damages. You are entitled to punitive damages if you can demonstrate that your employer was malicious or recklessly indifferent to your rights in discriminating against you for your disability. You have the right to request trial by jury, in which case there is no limit on the amount of compensatory and punitive damages you can be awarded.

If you believe you are facing discrimination at work due to a disability, get in touch with a renowned Alabama employment rights lawyer to discuss your case.

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Not Too Old to Work — Proving Age Discrimination

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A recent decision by a federal appeals court highlights the process of proving an age discrimination case in Alabama.

In early 2008, 71-year-old Solomon Sims was hired as a supervisor in a company that organized transport and custody for the federal prison service. Eight months later, one of the vice presidents of his company instructed Sims’ immediate superior to fire two supervisors in a reduction in force, or RIF. Perkins analyzed the reports and the performance data of the supervisors. He asked all of the supervisors whom they thought should be fired. Unanimously, they chose Sims. When Perkins told Sims he would be laid off, he offered him a different job in the company, which Sims refused. At a certain point in their conversation, they discussed Sims’ and Perkins’ relative ages — Perkins was surprised that he was ten years younger than Sims.

Sims sued in federal court under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, but when the federal court in Atlanta ruled against him, he took his case to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which is the federal appeals court for Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

The court ruled against Sims, and in doing so, emphasized important rules relating to proving age discrimination that apply to lawsuits brought in Alabama.

Bringing direct evidence is the most effective way to prove an age discrimination case. If the employer says, “We just can’t stand having old people like you around here, here’s your pink slip,” there is not much need for circumstantial evidence. Very few age discrimination cases are so clear cut, however, and most rely on circumstantial evidence.

In a case with only circumstantial evidence, there are three stages to proving age discrimination:

  • The plaintiff must make a prima facie or first-blush case that the employer discriminated against the plaintiff because of age
  • The defendant, to protect the company, must state a “legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the challenged employment action.”
  • The plaintiff has an opportunity to show why the defendant’s legitimate reason is in fact not legitimate, but a cover-up for age discrimination.

In Sims’ case, the court found that the defendant showed legitimate reasons to lay Sims off. These included the need to save money on Sims’ work project and Sims’ poor performance compared to the other supervisors. There was also little or no evidence that these legitimate reasons were any type of cover-up for age discrimination. Indeed, Sims’ superior made his decision to fire Sims thinking that he, not Sims, was the oldest person in the company. Further, Sims was offered a different job.

Age discrimination cases are often very tricky to pursue. Defendants are rarely forthcoming with their intentions. Proving their reasons for employment discrimination requires a great deal of preparation and strategy. If your employer has discriminated against you, contact us for a review of your case to see how we can help you achieve justice.