How to file an EEOC Charge or complaint?
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) generally enforces federal laws prohibiting retaliation, harassment, claims that employers have not provided reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and claims of discrimination based upon race, sex, religion, color, pregnancy, disability or age. There are strict guidelines that an employee must follow to properly file an EEOC charge of discrimination. Consulting with an employment lawyer early on is very important.
The EEOC has specific requirements before it can enforce an employee's claims. Some of the requirements are outlined below.
• The employer must have at least 15 employees for an employee to claim violation of a particular act.
• There are time limitations, or statutes of limitation, to file a claim of discrimination, and there are different time limitations depending on the particular claim. It is important to note that the time to file a claim or charge of discrimination is not extended because you are trying to resolve the problem with your employer.
• Age discrimination cases have longer periods in which to file your claim of discrimination.
• The EEOC does work with local agencies and in those cases the time to file your charge of discrimination is 300 days rather than the 180 if there is no state agency involved.
• The local agencies that work with the EEOC are called Fair Employment Practice Agencies or FEPAs. Broward County Civil Rights Division, City of Orlando Office of Human Relations, City of Tampa Office of Human Rights, Miami-Dade County Equal Opportunity Board, Florida Commission on Human Relations, Hillsborough County Equal Opportunity Administrator, Lee County Office of Equal Opportunity, Palm Beach County Office of Equal Opportunity, and the Pinellas County Office of Human Rights are some examples of such Fair Employment Practice Agencies.
Charges of discrimination must be made in person or by writing to the EEOC explaining the nature of the harassment, discrimination, retaliation, etc. We recommend that an employee or ex-employee who believes that they have been discriminated against in the workplace speak with an employment attorney before calling or filing a charge with the EEOC. An employment attorney can help explain certain issues and explain what the EEOC is looking for to help with filing the claim. By contacting an attorney, this will allow you to communicate to the EEOC the best way possible regarding what happened and can help you identify other statutes that may have been violated by the employer.
What happens after you file your EEOC complaint or charge of discrimination?
Typically, after the charge of discrimination is filed and accepted by the EEOC, it sends a copy of your claim to the employer asking the employer to answer specific questions about the allegations in the charge of discrimination while the EEOC investigates the claim. Depending on the case, the EEOC may conduct a mediation conference which gives both the employee and the employer the chance to settle the matter confidentially and quickly. An EEOC mediator does not have the ability to force a settlement; all the mediator can do is assist the parties in discussing the facts of the particular charge and the applicable law. We recommend that employees are represented at EEOC mediation by an employment attorney.
After the EEOC has completed its investigation, and if applicable the parties have mediated, the EEOC will send the employee a Notice of Right to Sue Letter. This letter allows the employee to file a complaint in court for the harassment, discrimination, FMLA, ADA or whatever particular form of violation relevant to that charge of discrimination. The Notice of Right to Sue Letter is extremely time sensitive. Employees must take immediate action upon receipt of the Notice of Right to Sue Letter. We strongly advise that an employee retain an attorney upon receipt of the Notice of Right to Sue Letter if an attorney has not already been retained.
What if my employer retaliates against me after I file an EEOC claim?
Sometimes the charge of discrimination has to be supplemented because during the EEOC's investigation process the employer does more things that violate federal employment statues, such as retaliate against the employee who is making a claim. An employer cannot harass or retaliate against you during the EEOC investigation or after the process. Quite often employers do fire or demote employees for going to the EEOC with evidence that the employer has not provided reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), discrimination based upon race, sex, religion, color, pregnancy, disability, or age. If this happens, the employer should contact the EEOC investigator immediately or your employment lawyer.
What can I recover after filing an EEOC claim?
Each federal employment statute provides for different remedies or damages that the employee can recover. Generally speaking, the range recover ranges for an employee who is able to establish a violation of a federal employment law. For example, an employee can be entitled to back wages, reinstatement, compensatory damages or compensation for loss, injury, or harm suffered as a result of the discrimination, liquidated damages or damages designated by the parties, and in some cases even punitive damages. Additionally, most statutes provide that the employee is entitled to recover his or her attorney's fees and costs in the prosecution of the lawsuit based upon sexual harassment, employment discrimination and like violations.
Punitive damages are more difficult to recover as they are intended to punish the employer for their willful discrimination such as sexual harassment, age discrimination, violation of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and/or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), race discrimination, etc.
Compensatory damages is a broad term used by courts to describe damages such as medical expenses, emotional damages, expenses an employee had to incur to conduct a job search after being fired by an employer. A simple way of determining what your compensatory damages are is to ask yourself what expenses or costs have I had to incur as a result of the employers harassment or discriminatory conduct. Medical expenses and lost wages may be considered compensatory damages.
There are certain limits on the amount of damages an employee can recover, which is based upon the size of the employer. For example, for employers that employ more than 500 people, the limit is $300,000. For smaller employers like ones with less than 100 employees, the limit is $50,000. The damages recoverable under the Equal Pay Act is typically only back pay or back wages
For an initial consultation with one of our experienced attorneys call 305-372-2877 or 877-858-2977 or fill out the contact form on the right side of this page.
