St. Louis Retaliation and Whistleblowing Practice

Retaliation/Whistleblowing: Retaliation is when an employer unlawfully punishes an employee for engaging in a legally protected activity. Legally protected activities can be reporting discrimination, wage theft or some other violation of rights, opposing discriminatory practices of the employer, or participating in an investigation, proceeding, or lawsuit against the employer. An employer cannot fire, demote, discipline, or take any other adverse employment action against an employee for engaging in one of these activities.

Whistleblowers are also protected by both state and federal law. This means employers are prohibited from firing an employee because he or she refuses to perform illegal conduct, reports illegal conduct to a supervisor or manager, or reports illegal conduct to an outside agency. An employee who reports what he or she reasonably believes to be illegal conduct is protected from wrongful termination even if it turns out the employer’s conduct is not in fact illegal. Similarly, an employee who refuses to perform what he or she reasonably believes to be an illegal activity is also protected from wrongful termination even if the conduct is not actually illegal.

The Kennedy Hunt, P.C. practices in the following Missouri locations: St. Louis city, St. Louis County, St. Charles County. In Illinois: Alton, Belleville, Bloomington, Collinsville, Columbia, East St. Louis, Edwardsville, Fairmont City, Fairview Heights, Granite City, O’Fallon, Springfield, Waterloo.

If you believe you were terminated for blowing the whistle on your employer or believe you were retaliated against for engaging in a legally protected activity, contact the Kennedy Hunt, P.C. for an evaluation of your claim.