If an employee in a dental practice reports a violation of federal law (OSHA, labor, etc.), the employee report and the violation of federal law (e.g., an OSHA complaint) is protected from retaliation by the dental practice owner. An innocent personnel action taken by a dental practice owner may be seen as a whistleblower retaliation by OSHA.
The following actions by a dental practice owner may be considered retaliatory action, an be a violation of federal law:
- Firing or laying off an employee
- Assigning employee to undesirable shifts
- Blacklisting the employee
- Demoting the employee
- Denying overtime or the promotion to the employee
- Disciplining the employee
- Denial of benefits to the employee
- Intimidation by the practice owner
- Reassigning work to the employee
- Reducing pay or hours of the employee
It is strongly recommended that before any personnel matters are handled by a practice owner or office manager, it is always prudent to seek professional guidance in order to avoid violation of state or federal law.
Start J. Oberman, Esq. handles wide range of legal issues for the dental profession, including: employment law, cyber security breaches, practice sales, real estate transactions, lease agreements, OSHA compliance, dental board complaints, professional corporations.
For questions o comments regarding this article, please call97700 554-1400 or visit www.obermanlaw.com
If you would like Stuart J. Oberman, Esq. to speak at an event, please contact Arielle Horner, Marketing Coordinator (Arielle@obermanlaw.com).