Filing A Charge Of Discrimination U S Equal Employment Opportunity

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 3, 2025, 3:02 AM

filing a charge of discrimination u s equal employment opportunity

If you believe that you have been discriminated against at work because of your race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, transgender status, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic... A charge of discrimination is a signed statement asserting that an employer, union or labor organization engaged in employment discrimination. It requests EEOC to take remedial action. All of the laws enforced by EEOC, except for the Equal Pay Act, require you to file a Charge of Discrimination with us before you can file a job discrimination lawsuit against your employer. In addition, an individual, organization, or agency may file a charge on behalf of another person in order to protect the aggrieved person's identity. There are time limits for filing a charge.

The laws enforced by the EEOC require the agency to notify the employer that a charge has been filed against it. A Charge of Discrimination can be completed through our EEOC Public Portal after you submit an online inquiry and we interview you. Filing a formal charge of employment discrimination is a serious matter. In the EEOC's experience, having the opportunity to discuss your concerns with an EEOC staff member in an interview is the best way to assess how to address your concerns about employment discrimination and... In any event, the final decision to file a charge is your own. If you have 60 days or fewer in which to file a timely charge, the EEOC Public Portal will provide special directions for quickly providing necessary information to the EEOC and how to file...

Or, go to Find Your Nearest Office and enter your zip code for the contact information of the EEOC office closest to you. The laws enforced by the EEOC require the agency to accept charges alleging employment discrimination. If the laws do not apply to your claims, if the charge was not filed within the law's time limits, or if the EEOC decides to limit its investigation, the EEOC will dismiss the... The EEOC enforces Federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, and, in the EEOC’s view, gender... Most employers with at least 15 employees are covered by the laws the EEOC enforces. In general, you need to file a charge within 180 calendar days from the day the discrimination took place.

This deadline is extended to 300 calendar days if a state or local agency enforces a law that prohibits employment discrimination on the same basis. For age discrimination, the filing deadline is only extended to 300 days if there is a state law prohibiting age discrimination in employment and a state agency or authority enforcing that law. The deadline is not extended if only a local law prohibits age discrimination. Gather information to file your complaint: Your name, address, and telephone number The name, address, and telephone number of the employer (or employment agency or union) you want to file a complaint against

Federal and state laws protect you from unfair and unwelcome treatment at work. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and states enforce discrimination and harassment laws. Discrimination happens when an employer treats an employee or job applicant unfairly because of their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information. EEOC laws do not cover all employers. Coverage is often based on the number of employees. Verify if your employer is required to follow the EEOC's rules.

Report discrimination to the EEOC. Use the EEOC's public portal to follow the complaint process. Schedule an interview with someone from the EEOC. People treated less favorably by their labor union, employment agency, or employer with at least 15 employees because of their race, color, religion, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions, gender identity, and sexual... Such a filing is nearly always required before the complainant can file an employment discrimination lawsuit against their employer. The alleged discrimination may arise out of many work situations, including hiring, firing, promoting, training, paying wages, and providing other benefits.

To be eligible for consideration, each discriminatory event has its own 180-calendar-day filing deadline (“calendar days” include weekends and holidays). The deadline is extended to 300 calendar days if a state law prohibits employment discrimination on the ground that the complainant alleges. If the complainant alleges ongoing harassment, the deadline applies only to the last discriminatory event for all events to be considered. Notably, charges against a federal employer involve a different process and must be filed within 45 calendar days. EEOC field offices can help complainants determine their case’s deadline. The filing may be done by mail, online at https://publicportal.eeoc.gov/portal/, or in person at an EEOC field office.

The EEOC will then notify the employer within 10 days and request that they submit within 30 days the requested documentation and a written response to the charge. The EEOC will then share this statement with the complainant, who is expected to respond orally or in writing within 30 days of receiving the statement. If both parties agree, they may then participate in the EEOC’s mediation program and attempt to reach a voluntary settlement. If they fail to do so, the EEOC will investigate the charge of discrimination, a process that usually takes about 10 months and results in one of two outcomes. First, if the EEOC is unable to determine whether the employer violated the law, it will give the complainant a Notice of Right to Sue so they can file a lawsuit in court themselves. Second, if the EEOC determines that the employer violated the law, it will attempt to reach a voluntary settlement with the employer.

A failure to reach a settlement will result in the EEOC initiating a lawsuit or giving the complainant a Notice of Right to Sue so they can do so themselves. The external URL below links to the EEOC’s website, which provides additional details on filing a charge of discrimination with the EEOC. An individual, or a person acting on behalf of an individual may file a discrimination charge with IER within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory act. If someone files a charge against you as an employer, IER will send a letter within 10 days to notify you about the charge and will start its investigation. If you refuse to cooperate with the investigation, IER can obtain a subpoena to compel you to produce the requested information and documents or to appear for an investigative interview or deposition. An applicant, employee, or former employee, or any individual, organization, or agency filing on behalf of such individual, who believes that unlawful employment discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy),...

In general, a charge must be filed with the EEOC within 180 calendar days from the date of the alleged discrimination. For race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, or genetic information charges, this 180-day filing deadline is extended to 300 days if a state or local agency enforces a law that prohibits employment discrimination... For age discrimination charges, the 180-day filing deadline is only extended to 300 days if there is a state law prohibiting age discrimination in employment and a state agency or authority enforcing that law. The EEOC will notify you, as the employer, within 10 days that someone has filed a charge. A charge does not constitute a finding that you engaged in unlawful discrimination. The EEOC has authority to investigate whether there is reasonable cause to believe unlawful discrimination occurred.

If you are facing workplace discrimination or harassment, your first line of defense should be to complain within your company, using the complaint procedures outlined in the employee handbook or other policies. (If your company doesn't have a complaint process, raise your concerns with the HR department or a manager.) For information on how to do this—and why it's important not to skip this step—see Suing... If you aren't satisfied with your company's response, you may file a charge (complaint) of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or a similar state agency. Compared to most other government agencies, the EEOC has very well-defined procedures for filing complaints. But the EEOC also operates through a complex hierarchy of offices and has strict time limits for filing complaints, which usually range from a few months to nearly a year. Pay particular attention to timing if you decide to take action against what you believe is illegal workplace discrimination.

Title VII complaints can be filed at local equal employment opportunity agency offices. These are not federal offices, but state and local agencies that have been designated as representatives of the EEOC. While workers are granted basic protections against discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, these rights are not always enforced. This fact sheet provides a walkthrough of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filing process to take legal recourse against discrimination. Included are sections such as a description of your legal rights, information needed to file a charge, the investigation, the employer’s response, and mediation and settlement. This resource will be most useful for workers facing discrimination and their advocates.

Enter your email address below to receive updates from the Job Quality Center of Excellence and related job quality news from the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program. What resources have you found useful for advancing job quality? Share your favorites so we can consider adding them to the Job Quality Center of Excellence. The EEOC enforces Federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, and, in the EEOC’s view, gender... Most employers with at least 15 employees are covered by the laws the EEOC enforces. In general, you need to file a charge within 180 calendar days from the day the discrimination took place.

Filing A Charge Of Discrimination U S Equal Employment Opportunity

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