While the pandemic changed a lot for some people, one positive aspect was that working from home got a lot of attention. Not only have turnover rates decreased when employees can work from home, but they’re happier, too. Happy workers are productive, so it’s not surprising that productivity also increased.

One area often leads to uncertainty and confusion. If you work from home, are you still protected by employment discrimination rules? When you work from home, and your team is spread out across California or the rest of the nation, are you still protected by whistleblowing laws?

Shegerian Conniff knows that physical distance from the office doesn’t remove your legal rights. California established some of the strictest rules in the nation, and federal whistleblower protections are also there to back you.

U.S. Whistleblower Laws and How They Apply to a Virtual Workplace

Your employer is in one state, while your remote office is across state lines. You question how you could still have protections against retaliation. Federal statutes look at the relationship between your employer and your work duties rather than your physical location. These statutes protect you.

• False Claims Act (FCA): Protects remote contractors and employees who report businesses that are defrauding the federal government through acts like double-billing government software contracts or fraudulently submitting telehealth claims.
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Anti-Retaliation: If a remote worker reports violations of consumer data privacy laws, failures in digital security protocols, or unsafe consumer or environmental products, they’re protected by OSHA’s anti-retaliation provisions.
• Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) and the Dodd-Frank Act: Remote employees of companies who report financial fraud or wrongdoing, such as altering financial statements, are protected from retaliation.

California’s Whistleblowing Laws: Labor Code Section 1102.5

California’s laws offer far more layers of protection. California Labor Code Section 1102.5 provides comprehensive protections that extend well beyond those provided by the federal government. 

• External and Internal Reporting: Protections apply no matter how you report illegal acts. If you reported them to your HR department, your rights are the same as if you went to a government agency or your out-of-state CEO.
• California Residents: You live in California, but you work for a company in New York. You’re still protected by California whistleblowing laws. On the other hand, a company in Florida must comply with California law when hiring Californians.
• The Reasonable Belief Standard: With this standard, you don’t need to prove that a legal violation occurred. You’re protected as long as you have reasonable belief that your rights were violated. Your employer must prove that the actions taken by HR or supervisors were justified for non-retaliatory reasons.
• Refusing Unlawful Directives: You cannot be asked to participate in an illegal act. If you are asked to inflate revenues to shareholders or lie to a government official to protect your employer and refuse, it’s illegal for your employer to retaliate.

What Retaliation in the Remote Office Looks Like

When you work in an office, retaliation looks differently than it does to remote workers. When there’s no shared office space, any retaliatory actions take on a virtual form.

• Communications: In an office, you’re often ignored or no longer invited to meetings. In a virtual workplace, you may find yourself being left off of email threads or Slack/Team channels. You’re being excluded from important channels for communicating job-related details, making it harder to complete tasks or meet client demands effectively.
• Denied Promotions: You’re passed over for a promotion you’re well-qualified for or left out of online training programs that would lead to higher-paying positions. The people chosen for those programs or promotions have less experience than you do.
• Hour or Pay Cuts: After reporting illegal practices or behaviors, your hours are cut from 40 to 20. You’re told it’s part of a cost-cutting strategy, but you’re the only one being moved to a shorter work week. You might be told that the company must reduce your contracted rate because you’re suddenly too expensive.
• Management: In an office, your manager or supervisor starts to micromanage everything you do. Remote workers often find themselves being told to turn on their webcams during all work hours or to install keystroke loggers. You become stressed knowing every action you take is being scrutinized for mistakes and wrongdoing.
• Shift Changes: Your team lead informs you that you’re being moved from daytime shifts to an overnight shift handling chat customer questions and complaints. You accepted the remote job knowing that you could work while your children were at school. You can’t keep the job if the hours change.
• Sudden, Unfounded Criticism: You’ve had excellent performance reviews for years. Suddenly, you’re getting a lot of criticism. The only thing that changed is that you reported a legal violation. That’s another example of retaliation in a remote office. You feel pressured to work harder, do more, and make higher-ups happy, which affects your mental health and is likely to lead you to quit.
• System Access: In an office, you’re told to hand over your building keys or office badge and find someone to let you in. In a remote workplace, you may find that your username and password for essential websites have been revoked. You can’t do the job you’re assigned to do.
• Work Assignments: In an office, you might be moved to a smaller office or other building. Remote workers are usually removed from important client accounts or projects and given smaller, less important tasks. You feel less important and expendable.

Tips for Employers and Their Remote Employees

When workers are scattered across the area, both employers and employees need to be proactive about safety and protection. 

Employers

• Audit remote monitoring practices and performance reports to ensure no retaliation is occurring.
• Establish clear, confidential, accessible website forms or hotlines for reporting.
• Produce clear employee handbooks for everyone and make sure reporting processes are clear and easy to follow.
• Train all HR personnel, team leads, and team managers on California laws governing remote work settings.

Remote Workers

• Keep records of everything that’s sent to you after you raise a concern or file a formal discrimination, harassment, or other complaint.
• Log dates, times, and situations when retaliatory behaviors occurred.
• Research which laws cover your employment contract and the workplace discrimination laws that also apply to your physical location.

You don’t have to be in a physical office to be protected by retaliation laws. With federal and state laws like Sarbanes-Oxley and the False Claims Act or California’s Labor Code § 1102.5 protecting you, don’t stand back and accept mistreatment. 

Shegerian Conniff offers free consultations. Reach us online and get honest advice about the situation you’re in and how you should proceed.