Several new resources introduced Thursday by the Department of Labor are designed to help educate employers and protect employees from retaliation by their employers for exercising their workplace rights.
Retaliation, or the fear of it, often prevents workers from exercising those rights, according to the Labor Department. Retaliation, the department said, can take the form of reduced work hours or pay, denied vacation or sick time, bullying, the threat of job loss, demotion, the threat of deportation, or violence.
To prevent retaliation, employers can identify and address certain behaviors, provide training, and demonstrate a commitment to not take certain actions against workers who exercise their rights, according to the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division.
The resources:
- A field assistance bulletin, Protecting Workers from Retaliation, provides information about worker protections from retaliation under the laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division.
- A presentation, Unlawful Retaliation Under the Laws Enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, outlines the circumstances under which an employer is prohibited from retaliating against a worker, or threatening retaliation, under specific laws and programs.
- The Wage and Hour Division Anti-Retaliation website, which provides examples of retaliation.
The Wage and Hour Division enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Employee Polygraph Protection Act and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, all of which are meant to protect workers against retaliation by employers.
