Having your hours cut can be a stressful experience for anyone who counts on their job to provide for themselves and their families. It especially stings when the move comes suddenly after you make a complaint about workplace misconduct.
Here is what you should know: Punishing an employee for speaking up on the job is illegal in Washington and other states across the country. State and federal laws give workers strong protections against this kind of retaliation, including the right to take legal action against their employers.
At Justice Law Corporation, our Washington employment lawyers help working people fight back against harassment on the job. We are experienced attorneys who have dedicated our careers to assisting people in these and other employment cases. Our lawyers have a strong track record of successful results in court and through negotiated settlements for the people that we represent.
Employers generally have the power to manage their workforces as they see fit. That includes making decisions about scheduling and hours. What employers cannot do, however, is use that power to punish workers who engage in protected activity, like reporting discrimination or harassment on the job or speaking up about working conditions.
Blowing the whistle at work can be a daunting and stressful experience. Fortunately, you do not need to go it alone. Our lawyers can help. Here is what you need to know if your hours were reduced after you filed a complaint.
Cutting Hours: This is What Retaliation Looks Like
State and federal laws ban employers from retaliating against their workers. What does that mean? Employers cannot take punitive action against employees for engaging in a protected activity.
Workers across Washington have significant rights to speak up about workplace safety, equal pay, wages and hours, and other issues. Some of the most common examples of protected activity include:
- Reporting harassment or discrimination
- Filing a complaint with human resources or a government agency
- Reporting unpaid wages or overtime violations
- Raising workplace safety concerns
- Requesting accommodations or protected leave
- Participating in an investigation or testifying as a witness
Workers are protected even if the conduct about which they complained turns out to be lawful or the complaint cannot be proved. As long as you reasonably believed you were acting in a protected way and your employer took a retaliatory action, you may be protected.
Although firing is one form of retaliation, it is not the only way that employers unlawfully punish their workers for engaging in protected activity. The laws ban a wide range of adverse employment actions that would discourage a reasonable employee from speaking up. Here are some of the most common:
- Termination
- Demotion
- Denial of promotion
- Pay cuts
- Reducing hours or changing schedules
- Disciplinary actions or write-ups
That is right: cutting a worker’s hours for making a complaint can be unlawful retaliation. It can have a real and immediate impact by reducing a person’s income and affecting their eligibility for benefits and advancement opportunities.
Reducing hours also may be a first step toward disciplinary action, demotion, or even firing. If your employer decides to lay off employees, lower hours may make you more likely to be included in the reduction. That is why employees whose hours are unlawfully chopped should take action.
Suing for Retaliation
If your hours have been slashed because you filed a complaint, you have the right to challenge the move by suing for unlawful retaliation. The legal remedies typically available in workplace retaliation include:
- Back pay for lost hours
- Reinstatement of your schedule
- Compensation for emotional distress
- Attorney’s fees
- Possible additional damages
To get these kinds of remedies, you have to show that the hours cut were retaliatory.
How to Prove Retaliation
Just because you believe that the move was related to your protected activity, that does not necessarily mean that you can prove it. You must be able to present evidence showing that it is more likely than not that retaliation was the motivation for the change in your hours.
To show that these kinds of moves are unlawful retaliation, you have to be able to connect them to your harassment reporting or other protected activity. Timing is often critical. Courts tend to take a skeptical view of actions taken shortly after a protected activity, viewing the timing as suggestive of retaliation. That is especially the case when an employee whose hours are cut has been performing at the same level and has not previously been warned about possible schedule changes.
Employers rarely admit that they are retaliating against their workers. Instead, they routinely argue that hours cuts and other retaliatory actions are simply “business decisions.” Washington is an “at-will” employment state, which means employers have broad discretion to hire, fire, promote, and demote workers, as well as to set their hours and other terms and conditions of employment. Employers may blame business slowdowns, cost-cutting needs, and shifting strategies for reductions in hours and other punitive measures that appear retaliatory.
Employees can combat such excuses by showing they were treated differently from others, that the change came on the heels of protected activity, or that the employer’s explanation simply does not add up.
Evidence is critical to show that an employer’s stated reason for cutting hours is a pretext. Emails, text messages, and other communications, along with performance reviews, records of complaints, and witness statements, are among the strongest forms of evidence.
Our Washington Employment Lawyers Can Help
If you are being retaliated against at work, you have the right to take action. You do not need to go it alone. A Washington employment lawyer at Justice Law Corporation can help you evaluate your claim and understand your rights and options.
Our office is conveniently located in Seattle. Contact us at (360) 207-0000 to schedule a free consultation with a Washington employment lawyer.
