Detroit Employment Law Blog

The United States needs a solid and dependable workforce to continue thriving. Ideally, this workforce should not suffer from workplace discrimination or harassment. Most people are willing to work hard in exchange for fair payment and proper treatment. On the unfortunate side of this issue, there are far too many people that undermine the American workforce by mistreating employees or co-workers.

It is safe to say that most employees in the Detroit area have a vague idea about the rights of the American workforce. However, sometimes, it is easy to forget about your rights, especially when you need your job to survive. The good news is that there are ways to protect yourself if you decide to take action against someone who is discriminating against you. It all starts with your rights as a worker. In Michigan and all other states, workers have the right to:

• A working environment free of discrimination and harassment
• Confidentiality, in all matters such as medical or genetic information, to name just two
• Receive a fair wage in exchange for the good work you provide
• Reasonable accommodations in the workplace for religious reasons or a medical condition
• Report workplace discrimination or harassment without fear of retaliation by co-workers or superiors

Corporate fraud, employer misconduct and unethical business activities are three situations that can lead to whistleblower claims. As a responsible resident of Michigan, you may decide to call out these or other types of wrongdoing. Once you decide to take this undeniably massive step, you will want to do all you can to help the authorities prove your claims.

As attorneys who help to protect whistleblowers, we also want to help you prove your claims. Of course, we can best accomplish this goal by serving as your legal counsel. However, we cannot in good conscience, limit our knowledge only to our clientele. Even if you choose to go it alone or choose a different lawyer, we still want to help you take a stand against wrongdoing.

Most whistleblowers stumble across signs of fraud or wrongdoing totally by accident. In the majority of cases, these people are reluctant to blow the whistle because they fear retaliation from the parties responsible for misconduct. It usually takes a potential whistleblower some time to decide to speak out.

This cautious approach is the right way to proceed when blowing the whistle. Careful consideration combined with authoritative legal guidance are essential to prepare for the process of becoming a whistleblower. You can find a lot of information about what to do after deciding to move forward. However, you should also understand what not to do as a whistleblower.

Gender discrimination in the workplace is the unfair treatment of an individual because of their gender. Both male and female employees can face gender discrimination. A study found that 42% of women and 22% of men reported experiencing workplace gender discrimination.

Gender, age, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation are all protected classes. An employer is not allowed to discriminate against an employee based on gender or any other protected class. The signs of workplace discrimination may be obvious, or they may be subtle.