After working so hard to climb the ladder in your career, so to speak, it is never a great feeling to get demoted to a lower-level position with reduced responsibilities, authority, and/or pay. In other words, this may seem like a step in the wrong direction. But what’s worse is if you believe you did not do anything necessarily wrong in your position to warrant this decision from your employer. And so, you may begin to question the sincerity behind this response. With that being said, please continue reading to learn whether you have experienced a retaliatory demotion and how a skilled Gloucester County workplace retaliation lawyer at The Vigilante Law Firm, P.C., can help you respond to this if necessary.
What are protected activities that do not warrant a demotion?
Under federal and related state laws, employees generally hold the legal right to report complaints to their employer’s Human Resources department without fear of consequence or retaliation. Such complaints may pertain to protections granted by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, namely, if they experience or witness a fellow employee being made a victim of discrimination, harassment, or any other undue behaviors and actions due to their race, religion, age, gender, disability, or otherwise. To put it simply, reporting actions that threaten a protected class is a protected activity.
How do I know if I experienced a retaliatory demotion?
After being demoted, you may reflect and struggle to pinpoint a legitimate reason for this action, and your employer may be unwilling to offer you one. What you may understand, though, is that this decision was made by your employer shortly after you engaged in a protected activity, like reporting discriminatory behavior in the workplace. Given this set of circumstances, you may have reason to believe you have experienced a retaliatory demotion.
Even if you did not specifically get switched to a lower-level job position, your employer may have still wrongfully retaliated against you in other ways. Below are more specific signs of this:
- You may be reassigned to lower-level tasks even though you have managed to keep the same job title.
- You may unexpectedly receive a negative end-of-year performance review for your current job position.
- You may suddenly feel isolated physically and emotionally by your employer and coworkers in your work environment.
- You may receive notice that you are being stripped of certain employee benefits received in the past.
- You may be overlooked for certain promotions even though you have met the disclosed criteria for them.
If you have made it this far, please do not hesitate to seek further information from one of the experienced New Jersey employment lawyers. The team at Vigilante Law Firm, P.C., is willing and able to guide you through your future legal processes.
