Indianapolis Employment Law Blog

One reason that employees sometimes fail to report things like safety violations and sexual harassment is that they worry about retaliation. If they make that report, is it going to negatively impact their career? Employees often feel like they have to choose between taking a stand and keeping a steady paycheck for their families. That allows a lot of issues to get swept under the rug as they pick their families and their careers.

That being said, retaliation is illegal. If you file a complaint, your company cannot take action against you. Employees still worry about it, and it does still happen, but those who experience it need to know that they have legal options.

If you're trying to keep an eye out for sexual harassment in the workplace, it can be a bit harder to identify it these days. Most people understand that it's illegal and that there are ramifications. That doesn't mean it won't happen, but they may try harder to hide it or to disguise it as something else.

To help you see what's happening, here are some signs that a person is being harassed:

• They start missing shifts and failing to show up for work more often.
• Employee turnover rates increase as people leave for new jobs.
• They can't seem to focus on the task at hand.
• They seem to have a low opinion of the job and low employee morale overall.
• They wear clothes that cover up the physical signs of harassment.

When you look at workplace accidents and injuries, you often find that workers were forced to work in dangerous conditions for a long time before they actually got hurt. It can leave you scratching your head, wondering why they would put up with it when they risked life-changing and even fatal injuries. Why wouldn't they refuse to work or complain about the lack of safety?

It's very easy to say this after the fact. In retrospect, injured workers likely wish they had spoken up. Unfortunately, the reason that many of them neglect to do so is simple: They're worried about retaliation.

When many employees think of discrimination or harassment in the workplace, they think of blatant, obvious comments, actions or behaviors. However, workplace discrimination or harassment does not always take the form of an obviously inappropriate action.

According to a 2018 study, 64 percent of women across the country endured “microaggressions” in the workplace, or gender-based subtle discriminatory actions. Subtle forms of discrimination can be very damaging but more difficult to recognize. Additionally, it can be challenging to know what, if anything, to do about it.