EMPLOYMENT LAW QUESTIONS & ANSWERS    What you consider “discrimination” or “harassment” or “retaliation” may be vastly different from the legal meaning of those terms. Unfair work decisions, favoritism or outright terrible behavior from work superiors is not, alone, illegal. The Q & A below may help you determine if your matter is either just a bad work place or an illegal situation. Q. What is “discrimination”? A. Discrimination is when a bad job event is based on an illegal basis. The illegal basis are age, gender, race, citizenship, religion or sexual orientation. Just because an employer does not like you or favors someone else does not mean there is legal discrimination. If the favoritism or bad job event is due to an employer or management’s choice based, in whole or in part, on these illegal bases --- that is discrimination. Q. What is “harassment”? A. Illegal harassment occurs when the bad words, jokes or disrespect are because of the person’s gender or orientation. It can be retaliation for not returning a superior’s affections. It can become a hostile work environment if there are repeated sexual demands, innuendos or insults. Harassment is not grief, aggravation, bad temper or yelling alone. Q. What is “retaliation”? A. Retaliation is a bad job action against the employee by the employer or management because an employee stands up for his or her legal rights, for opposing an illegal scheme, for threatening to report or reporting the illegal scheme to appropriate law enforcement or regulatory authorities. Retaliation is not just a bad act or decision by the employer about you. Q. What is “defamation”? A. Defamation is an untrue statement about an employee, told to or written to another person, such as a supervisor or management, which results in damage to the employee. In the workplace, examples of this are untrue accusations of bad work skills, attendance problems, abuse of workplace privileges, employee theft, insubordination, bad job performance reviews or accusations that result in demotion, loss of promotion, suspension or termination.    If any of these situations describes your situation, you may have a case for review. Please call or fill out our prospective client questionnaire in order to have your rights reviewed or protected. Persons seeking confidential legal advice should consult with legal counsel familiar with their particular situation. If you would like to discuss a potential legal representation, you may request a consultation by calling one of our offices.