How do you prove retaliation for whistleblowing?

Summary of the Article: “How do you prove retaliation for whistleblowing?”

What is considered retaliation against a whistleblower:
Whistleblower retaliation occurs when an employee with authority to do so takes or fails to take, or threatens to take or fail to take, a personnel action against another employee because such employee made a protected disclosure.

What are examples of retaliation for whistleblowing:
Adverse actions may include actions such as:Firing or laying off, demoting, denying overtime or promotion, disciplining, denying benefits, failing to hire or rehire, intimidation or harassment, making threats.

What are the elements of a whistleblower retaliation claim:
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a retaliation claim consists of three elements: An employee’s participation in a protected action, an adverse action taken against the employee, existence of a causal connection between the protected activity and the adverse action.

What is the standard of proof for a whistleblower:
Because of whistleblowing, that provision requires a whistleblower to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the employer took the adverse employment action with retaliatory intent — i.e., an intent to “discriminate against an employee … because of” whistleblowing.

What are 3 examples of retaliation:
For example, depending on the facts, it could be retaliation if an employer acts because of the employee’s EEO activity to: reprimand the employee or give a performance evaluation that is lower than it should be, transfer the employee to a less desirable position, engage in verbal or physical abuse.

What is the average settlement for a whistleblower retaliation:
The mathematical average of the total recoveries (settlements and judgments) for this time period is approximately $3.3 million, with an average whistleblower award of $562,000.

What are three actions that constitute retaliation:
Retaliation can include actions such as inquiring about their pay, hours of work, or other rights, asserting their worker rights, filing a complaint about their worker rights, cooperating with a WHD investigation.

What is not covered by whistleblowing:
Unless your particular case is in the public interest, personal grievances are not covered by whistleblowing law.

How much can a whistleblower sue for:
The whistleblower is generally entitled to a bounty of between 15 and 30 percent of the recovery. The recovery includes actual trebles damages and civil penalties. If the government intervenes, the bounty range is between 15 and 25 percent.

What makes a good retaliation case:
A strong retaliation case must show three things: an employee faced discrimination or harassment in the workplace, they reported the incident, and the employee was then fired, demoted, or otherwise punished for their complaint.

What is a good example of retaliation:
Some examples of retaliation would be a termination or failure to hire, a demotion, a decrease in pay, a decrease in the number of hours that you’ve worked. The cause will be obvious things such as a reprimand, a warning, or lowering of your evaluation scores.