The Wage & Hour (WHD) division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has made available several new resources to protect employees from retaliation by employers for exercising their rights as workers, the DOL announced recently.
Retaliation against workers violates labor-protections laws and often intimidates workers into not exercising their rights, the DOL states in the March 10 announcement. To curb such violations, the new resources provide information on the worker protections under federal law as enforced by DOL and WHD, according to the announcement.
“The Wage and Hour Division is committed to preventing and addressing retaliation against workers," Jessica Looman, WHD acting administrator, said in the announcement.
Retaliation by an employer includes actions intended to discourage workers from voicing concerns, filing complaints or cooperating with investigations into possible employer abuses. Reductions in work hours or wages, denial of time off, demotion and threat of termination, bullying and violence are common forms of retaliation, according to the DOL.
By providing appropriate training to recognize and address behaviors in the workplace that could lead to retaliation against employees, employers could prevent retaliation from occurring, DOL stated in the announcement.
The WHD's new resources include the Field Assistance Bulletin "Protecting Workers from Retaliation;" a pdf presentation titled “Unlawful Retaliation Under the Laws Enforced by the Wage and Hour Division;" and a WHD anti-retaliation website, DOL reports.
“These protections uphold the rights of workers to identify violations of the law without fear of termination or other threats to their reputation, safety or livelihood," Looman said in the announcement. "The laws we enforce only protect workers when workers can access their protections.”
