Filing a wage complaint against your employer is well within your rights, especially if you have solid evidence that your wages have been tampered with in any shape or form. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was created by the federal government to protect employees from various problems that can arise on the job. This includes protection from retaliation by an employer. Here’s how you can prove a wage and hour retaliation claim against your employer.
In order for your claim of retaliation to succeed, you must show that your employer retaliated against you in some form because of the initial wage claim you filed against them. The most vital part of this claim is the timing involved. If there was very little time between you filing the wage claim and then suffering retaliation, it’s likely that this was the case.
Other evidence of retaliation could be claims made by co-workers who have been retaliated against. A history of retaliation by your employer can easily help your claim move forward either in court or if you filed a lawsuit. Did your employer’s demeanor towards you suddenly go cold? If so, this is another important piece of evidence in proving retaliation.
If you were demoted, passed over for a promotion by someone less qualified or even had your overtime hours reduced, you might have evidence of retaliation if any of this happened within a short period from you filing the wage claim.
Proving retaliation by your employer is not easy. If you have the evidence against them, be sure to provide it to your attorney in order to build a case. Your rights are protected against retaliation, so do not let your employer bully you for filing a wage and hour claim.
