Shareholder Jon Rehm will present on whistleblower and retaliation law

Firm shareholder Jon Rehm will present on whistleblower and retaliation law to about 40 other employment lawyers at the annual Nebraska State Bar Association’s annual Labor and Employment Law Seminar. Rehm will present on this topic with Mark Fahleson, a prominent and respected employment defense attorney.

“Preparing for this seminar has crystallized for me the importance of employees acting as soon as possible if they think they have been retaliated against in the workplace. The Nebraska Fair Employment Practices Act provides strong protections against retaliation, but employees need to act promptly to pursue those rights,” Rehm said. “Nebraska law favors employees who file a complaint in court or with the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission within 300 days of when they were fired or forced to quit.

“The main reason that you want to file a retaliation compliant or charge within 300 days is that an employee can be awarded attorney fees and front pay if they can bring a retaliation complaint under the Nebraska Fair Employment Practices Act.”

However, employees who fail to file a charge or complaint within 300 days may have a legal way to address retaliation as well.

“Nebraska courts have held that certain activities, like filing a workers’ compensation claim or opposing some criminal activities, give employees the right to sue their employer for wrongful termination. This is called the public policy exception to employment at will. These cases have a four-year statute of limitations. You can’t win attorney fees or front pay in these cases, but you can win emotional distress damages and economic damages as well. “

Though the public policy exception cases may not allow employees to collect as much in damages, sometimes they are the only remedy available for a worker, Rehm said.

“The Nebraska Fair Employment Practices Act only applies to employers with more than 15 employees. So if you work for a small employer, you can’t bring a case under that act, but you can bring it under the public policy exception. The Nebraska Fair Employment Practices Act also only applies if you oppose the illegal or unlawful conduct of your employer, not your co-workers. Under the public policy exception, you can actually bring a case for opposing the illegal or unlawful conduct of your co-workers.

“The other lesson that became evident for me in preparing for this presentation is how retaliation can seem straightforward on the surface but can be incredibly complicated. Preparing for this seminar has given me the chance to reflect on over 10 years of representing employees in retaliation cases.”