Once a claim is accepted by the EEOC or state agency, an investigator in charge of your case will attempt to resolve the complaint through investigation and conciliation. The advantage of initially commencing a claim through the EEOC or a state agency is that it costs you nothing. If you decide to file a private lawsuit, however, you will probably need to hire a lawyer to represent you in court, and this can be expensive. This could effectively stall any financial recovery for many more years. The employer may appeal an EEOC or state agency decision and force you to sue it in federal court or have the case remanded to a state administrative hearing. Cases often take years to be decided, and obtaining a favorable decision (i.e., a letter stating your case has probable cause) does not automatically mean you will receive an award of any size, much less that you will receive big bucks. You may also be able to receive a judgment quicker, since the EEOC is understaffed. It is also possible to recover more damages under some state laws. The advantage of commencing a private lawsuit may be the more liberal statute of limitations if you are concerned that the time to file may soon expire. You must also first decide whether to commence a private discrimination lawsuit in state court or file a charge with theEEOCor a state agency. For example, although the EEOC cannot investigate charges of discrimination with companies that have fewer than 15 full-time employees, most state agencies can. STRATEGY: Before deciding whether to file with the EEOC or a state agency, speak to an employment attorney for advice, because some state discrimination statutes provide greater protection and some state agencies have more powers than the EEOC. You should also know that the EEOC is authorized to contractwith state agencies to handle some of its cases, so it is possible your case will automatically be turned over to a state agency.
Although some state agencies permit a longer period (e.g., up to 300 days depending on state law), to be timely youmust file a charge with the EEOC within 180 days of the date the last incident occurred. In some states, filing a charge with either the EEOC or a state agency will be treated as a filing with both. The headquarters of the EEOC are in Washington, D.C., and there are numerous regional and local offices throughout the United States. The EEOC is a federal agency responsible for investigating claims of discrimination under various federal laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. If you believe you have been victimized by employment discrimination, consider filing a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and/or your state agency. This does not include the many hundreds of thousands of complaints brought to state and local agencies and other institutions. More than 100,000 formal complaints are filed each year with the EEOC, and thousands of private discrimination lawsuits are tried in court annually. In seeking to enforce your rights, you will not be alone. Even if you work in a right-to-work state and can be fired easily, it is illegal to be fired because you belong to a protected class, such as being a woman, over forty, a minority, handicapped, or a religious believer. These may include reinstatement or job hiring receiving wage adjustments, back pay, and double back pay receiving promotions and future pay recovering legal fees, filing costs, and fees paid for expert witnesses receiving punitive damages and compensatory damages up to $300,000 depending on the size of the employer and other damages depending on the facts of your case.
The law entitles victims of discrimination to recover a variety of damages. Recognizing discrimination is only part of the battle you must take the proper steps to enforce your rights.
Whistleblowing and other areas of protected conduct.Sexual harassment and other forms of on-the-job harassment.Age discrimination claims and early retirement packages.Family, medical, and other leaves of absence.Disability discrimination and reasonable accommodation for clients with disabilities.He has negotiated, mediated, and litigated many claims in this area, including: New York employment attorney Steven Mitchell Sack has represented individuals alleging unfair employee discrimination for approximately three decades.
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