Moral injury occurs when you do something that you know is wrong, but you do it anyway because of external pressures. The term first originated in writings by psychiatrists who treated combat veterans who had been ordered to commit acts of violence that they knew were wrong. Today, its application extends to situations other than war. Workers have many reasons for feeling burnt out. Not getting paid enough for the work they do ranks highly among the causes, and so does getting frequent calls and emails from work supervisors during hours not officially designated as working hours.
Managerial dysfunction is another cause of burnout, where, no matter what you do, management’s decisions place many obstacles in front of you that prevent you from doing your job in the way that provides maximum benefit to the beneficiaries of your work. Seeing your supervisors be ineffective and knowing that you can do little to fix it is bad enough, but seeing them knowingly harm or endanger people is worse. Federal and state employment laws give you protection from retaliation when you notify the relevant authorities about the misconduct or crimes that you witness at work.
Speaking up about wrongdoing by those more powerful than you always involves some risk, but you are not alone in your efforts to protect your coworkers or the public from your employer’s unethical or dangerous actions. The Bozeman whistleblower claims lawyers at HKM Employment Attorneys LLP can help you navigate the process of reporting misconduct in your workplace.
Montana Employer Retaliation Laws
Employer retaliation is when an employer penalizes you for engaging in a protected activity. Some protected activities fit into the category of whistleblower claims. The following whistleblower claims are specifically listed as protected activities:
- Complaining to your company’s human resources department, the Montana Human Rights Bureau, or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) about discrimination in your workplace, whether the target of the discrimination was you or someone else
- Reporting accidents, safety hazards, or violations of safety regulations to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- Reporting suspected crimes that you witnessed to law enforcement or responding to law enforcement’s public requests for information about ongoing criminal investigations
- Cooperating with investigations into alleged misconduct at your workplace by the EEOC or other regulatory entities
Not all protected activities involve whistleblower claims. It is also a protected activity if you take an unpaid FMLA leave of absence from work because of your own health issues or because of family caregiving obligations, and if you request accommodations for a documented disability.
It is retaliation if, in response to you engaging in a whistleblower claim or other protected activity, your employer takes an adverse action against you. The adverse action could be as subtle as a hostile work environment characterized by social exclusion and general negativity or as obvious as reducing your pay, reassigning you to undesirable tasks, or terminating your employment.
It is Not Snitching When You Speak Truth to Power
Complaining about someone else’s wrongdoing always makes you unpopular with the people connected to the wrongdoing. Most of the time, when you see coworkers not following company policies, it makes more sense to keep your mouth shut. Given how much you work and how little your employer pays you, your coworkers are not harming anyone if they pocket a few instant coffee sachets or pads of sticky notes to take home.
Speaking out about what others are doing wrong at your workplace makes sense if it puts workers at your organization at risk of physical injury, or if your company’s products are more dangerous than consumers know. It also makes sense to speak out about misconduct at your workplace if your organization is causing avoidable financial harm to its customers through fraudulent business practices.
How to File a Qui Tam Action
Qui tam actions are whistleblower claims specific to companies that count the federal government among their clients. A qui tam action is a lawsuit filed jointly by the whistleblower and the defrauded federal entity against the whistleblower’s employer. The Latin phrase “qui tam” means “on behalf of himself,” because the whistleblower is filing the lawsuit on his own behalf and on behalf of the federal agency that the whistleblower’s employer is defrauding. The amount requested is enough to compensate the government entity for its fraud-related financial losses and to compensate the whistleblower for the termination of his or her employment. In other words, when you file a qui tam whistleblower claim, you do not have to later sue your employer for wrongful termination of employment; your compensation is built into the government’s lawsuit.
When Your Employer Retaliates Against You for Speaking Up About Discrimination in Your Workplace
If you are wondering whether the problem you are experiencing at work is discrimination or retaliation, it might be both. For example, you might have spoken to your work supervisor, upper management, or your company’s human resources department about discriminatory behavior in your workplace, and things might have gotten worse as a result. You can cite retaliation for discrimination-related whistleblower complaints in your employment discrimination lawsuit. As with any discrimination lawsuit, you cannot go straight to court with your complaint.
First, you must get authorization to sue from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Montana Human Rights Bureau. When you talk to an EEOC or Human Rights Bureau counselor, tell them about all the discriminatory actions you witnessed, including but not limited to your employer’s retaliatory actions after you voiced your concerns about retaliation. The EEOC or Bureau will examine your complaints and attempt to corroborate your statements by investigating your workplace. The Bureau or the EEOC will interview multiple people at your organization before it decides whether you have grounds for a lawsuit.
Seek Our Counsel for Whistleblower Claims
The Bozeman employment lawyers at HKM Employment Attorneys LLP can counsel you about filing a whistleblower claim about misconduct in your workplace. Contact the employment lawyers at HKM Employment Attorneys LLP in Bozeman, Montana, to set up a consultation.
