Receiving an unfair write up does not mean you automatically have a legal claim against your employer. In determining whether an unfair write up is legal you have to ask yourself a few questions:
1. Have I recently complained of discrimination?
2. Have I recently been involved in a human resources investigation?
3. Is my employer using company rules/polices to write me up based on a discriminatory factor (ie. race, gender, age, pregnancy, disability, etc.)?
If your answer is yes to any of these questions, you may have a legal claim. If your answer to these questions is no, then the write up will most likely be deemed legal. Employees in Alabama have very few state law protections from unfair or unequal treatment in the workplace. Since state law provides such few protections, Alabama employees heavily rely on federal law for workplace protections. Federal law protects employees from workplace discrimination and retaliation based upon a discriminatory characteristic, also called a protected class. Federal law protects employees from unfair write ups if the write up is issued in retaliation for reporting discrimination or if another employee, outside of your protected class, participates in the same behavior and is not written up. Essentially, a write up violates federal law when:
1. The write up is issued in retaliation for reporting discrimination; OR
2. The employer apples its rules/policies more strictly on an employee based upon their protected class.
If you believe you have received an illegal write up, please contact our office to discuss your potential claim.
