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EEOC Claims Process
What is Discrimination?
In order to seek restitution for federal discrimination or sexual harassment violations an employee must file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or EEOC. The EEOC is a federal agency that has the primary responsibility of overseeing discrimination and sexual harassment claims.
Important Note: If you believe that you have been discriminated against in the work place based on your age, sex or color or if you have been sexually harassed you must first present a charge to the EEOC before you can institute a lawsuit.
Important Note: Victims of discrimination and harassment have only 180 days from the date of the unlawful activity to bring a charge before the EEOC. In instances where a state claim may be involved this filing deadline is extended to 300 days in the State of Indiana.
Upon receiving a charge the EEOC has two choices. They may investigate and prosecute the claim or they may decline to investigate and allow the charging party to immediately file suit. Usually, the EEOC will investigate and prosecute those cases that clearly represent discriminatory conduct.
The following are some examples of conduct that would necessitate the filing of charges with the EEOC:
- Your boss disciplines African-American employees for too many absences while white employees also are missing plenty of work without being punished.
- You have reported that employees have made racially or sexually offensive remarks in your presence, but nothing has been done.
- You notice that only women or employees over 40 are being laid off.
- In a job interview, you are asked about your health before an offer is made.
- You are touched in inappropriate places by co workers or managers.
- You are subject to inappropriate sexual comments from co workers or managers.
MAKING THE CLAIM
The following items must be included in the complaint:
- Your name.
- The names, business addresses, and business telephone numbers of all persons who committed and/or participated in the discriminatory act(s)
- Specific events, dates, and facts to support why the act(s) were discriminatory (e.g., statistics, whether other employees or individuals were discriminated against, and if so, the person(s) victimized, and by whom).
- The complaint must be signed.
The following is an example of a completed charge form
Remember that based on your charge form the EEOC can either choose to investigate or not investigate your claim. In the event that the EEOC chooses to not investigate or dismiss your claim, they will forward a letter to your attention. This letter will state that if you wish to proceed with your case, you must file a formal lawsuit in federal court within 90 days or forfeit your claim. This is called a "right-to-sue" letter.
You may not bring suit until after you have received your letter.
If the EEOC decides to investigate your claim it will notify you and send a copy of your complaint to your employer. The employer then has an opportunity to respond to your charges. This response will generally be in writing and lay out facts beneficial to the employer. In some instances an employer may countercharge and allege that the employee be found liable for some type of misconduct.
Following the response of the employer the EEOC will continue to gather facts through a series of document requests and interviews. At the conclusion of this initial investigation the EEOC will hold a no fault conference to discuss your case. This conference will be conducted by an EEOC investigator. Possibilities for settlement exist at this meeting. Pressure will be placed on the corporation to resolve the issue by way of settlement before additional investigation occurs.
Tip: It may be a good idea to retain an attorney for this no fault conference. Not only can an attorney provide assistance in settlement negotiation but they should be able to provide a realistic assessment of the value of your case.
If your case cannot be settled at the conference, many options are available, including:
- Bringing suit against the employer in a civil lawsuit, typically in federal court;
- Authorizing the agency act on your behalf to protect your rights and proceeding to a fact-finding hearing and determination;
or
- Authorizing the EEOC or Department of Justice to commence a lawsuit for you and/or others similarly situated in a class action lawsuit.
The right decision on your next steps will depend in large part on the facts and merits surrounding your case. It is always advisable to seek the advice of experienced counsel before taking any of these steps.
Sexual Harassment & Employment Law Articles
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02 Jul 08
Withholding Severance Pay
A recent article in the Chicago Tribune describes a settlement won by a veteran employee at the Indianapolis-based drug manufacturer. The lawsuit centered around Eli Lilly not paying Starr E. Johnson's severance pay in order to have a discrimination charge that she filed be withdrawn. The company's refusal to pay the severance agreement came after the discrimination charge was filed. The EEOC office in Indianapolis was quoted as saying, "... (Read More)
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28 Apr 08
Time is Money
Oftentimes when employers have a lawsuit filed against them it is for a harassment or discrimination case with an employee. However, it is not so much discrimination and sexual harassment as one may assume, but instead stems from violations of state and federal wage and hour laws, such as:* bad record keeping* poor or non-existent company policies in place* improper procedures* bad payroll practices* incorrect time reportingBasically, "time is ... (Read More)
