Dysfunctional Workplaces May Be the Norm, but You Have the Right to Speak Up About Bullying and Harassment

In a recent article on the Walrus website, Samia Madwar ponders whether workplaces are inherently toxic.  She details a variety of perverse interpersonal dynamics which are, unfortunately, so common in work environments that no one who has ever depended on employment income is surprised to hear about them.  Entry level employees bend to the whims of their egomaniac bosses or, worse, explicitly excuse their behavior.  Coworkers complain to each other instead of to management, and by the time the venting session is finished, the consensus is that at least as much blame lies with the coworkers instead of your boss.  Many employees who have experienced bullying at work do not even complain to human resources because they fear that, if anything changes after the complaint, things will only get worse.  If the bullying at your workplace got worse after you complained about it to human resources, contact a Los Angeles unlawful retaliation lawyer.

Is “Human Resources” Just a Euphemism for “Retaliation Machine?”

Employer retaliation is when an employer punishes an employee, either through hostility and bullying or through an adverse action such as demotion, in response to the employee complaining about misconduct, discrimination, or harassment in the workplace, and it is as illegal as it sounds.  Unfortunately, many of the employees who think that their employers will retaliate against them if they complain to human resources are speaking from experience.  The human resources employees tend to act as if the employee who is complaining is lying unless the employee can definitively prove otherwise.

The Walrus article describes Spot, an AI chatbot that does intake for workplace harassment complaints.  Spot is much better than human employees at maintaining a neutral tone and not questioning the credibility of employees.  As of April 2024, several large employers in Canada use Spot for workplace harassment complaints.

If HR Doesn’t Help You, Contact the EEOC

If you are sure that nothing good will come of it if you complain to human resources about harassment in your workplace, it is never too soon to contact the California Civil Rights Department (CRD).  Contacting the CRD is a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit against your employer about discrimination or retaliation in your workplace.  The CRD will do a preliminary investigation to find out about the discrimination and bullying that your employer is engaged in to try to intimidate you and your coworkers from speaking openly about it.  After the investigation, the CRD can authorize you to sue your employer.  It is a good idea to hire an employment discrimination lawyer to represent you in your dealings with the CRD.

Speak With a Los Angeles Employer Retaliation Lawyer

A Los Angeles employment discrimination and retaliation lawyer can help you if your employer bullies employees and then intensifies its bullying if they complain about it.  Contact Litigation, P.C. in Redondo Beach, California to discuss your situation or call (424)284-2401.

Source:

thewalrus.ca/toxic-work/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us