As an employee with a good work ethic and morals, you know the importance of calling out unfair practices or infringements on workers’ rights.
While state and federal laws prohibit businesses from retaliation against whistle-blowers, subtle retaliation still happens. If you have filed a complaint, look for the following changes in your workplace.
1. Exclusion from gatherings or meetings
If your employer once expected you to attend regular meetings, such as for strategizing or discussing the happenings in your department, and suddenly stops, you may have a problem. That becomes especially clear if fellow employees with your same or similar positions continue to attend these gatherings. This type of isolation may set you up for supposedly legitimate grounds for termination.
2. Excessive negative comments on evaluations
Any review of your work performance should come with positives and negatives. If you once received glowing recommendations and now receive mostly all poor feedback, it should set a new set of whistles off. These evaluations often go into your permanent record, which may lead to a demotion or firing and affect your future endeavors.
3. Denial of a raise or promotion
While you never get a guarantee of a promotion, people often work hard to set a path toward one. Suddenly going from a top candidate to getting completely ignored may indicate underlying issues. Additionally, if your company typically gives annual raises and you suddenly do not get one while others do, it might indicate you should take action.
Unfortunately, doing the right things comes with difficulties. Fortunately, you have rights and laws to help protect you.