EEOC Complaint Requirements
How to File an EEOC Complaint While Working for the Employer Identification The EEOC was originally created to handle the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prevents discrimination based on race, age, creed, color or national origin, but as of 2011, the EEOC enforces several other statutes. For example, it enforces the Equal Pay Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008. You must face one of these types of discrimination by a private party or the federal government to have grounds for an EEOC case. Features The EEOC only considers discrimination when there is a consistent history of it or in some cases, a single but heinous act of discrimination, according to the EEOC website. For example, the EEOC would not accept a case if all that happened was a single incidence of light teasing. However, if a supervisor demands sexual favors for a promotion, the EEOC would consider this serious enough to pursue. The EEOC also needs documentation of the harassment or discrimination, such as eyewitness testimony or email records. Deadline As of 2011, the EEOC gives employees 180 days from the date the discrimination occurred to file a complaint. You may receive more time if a local governing authority has jurisdiction over the case and gives you more time. For example, if a state law prohibits the same discrimination you experienced, the EEOC extends the deadline to 300 days, according to the EEOC website. Tip Give the EEOC as much information as possible. The EEOC will decide whether the case is worth pursuing or if it wants to attempt mediation. The EEOC usually tries to gain concessions from the employer, such as a reprimand for the offending employee, before taking legal action. Also, watch out for discrimination after you file a complaint. Any action taken against you for lodging an EEOC complaint -- valid or not -- is called retaliation and is another form of discrimination. Read more: Grounds For EEOC Complaints | eHow http://www.ehow.com/info_12124519_grounds-eeoc-complaints.html#ixzz2U1tTXilW The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is the federal agency charged with enforcing Federal employment laws. The EEOC investigates and, in some instances, brings legal action against employers who have discriminated against employees on the basis of protected classifications such as race, gender, age, national origin, religion and pregnancy. The EEOC also enforces the federal prohibitions against sexual harassment in the workplace. Before the EEOC can investigate charges of discrimination or harassment, an aggrieved employee must file a charge of discrimination with the EEOC. An employee can take this action with or without the assistance of an attorney.
Read more: How to File a Charge of Discrimination With the EEOC | eHow http://www.ehow.com/how_2144663_file-charge-discrimination-eeoc.html#ixzz2U1snJV8v Who Can File and How
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission exists to enforce federal laws about employee discrimination. Anyone who thinks their employment rights have been violated can file a complaint with the EEOC and initiate an investigation process. It's even possible to have another person or organization to file the complaint on your behalf to keep your identity private and protect against retaliation. Interpreters will be provided if necessary, as will print materials and other accommodations as needed. Charges can be made by mail or in person at the closest local EEOC office. To find the closest office and get more information on filing a charge, you can call 1-800-669-4000. Informal Process Before going to the EEOC, the first step in resolving cases of discrimination is to go through what's called the "informal process." This begins with contacting the Office for Civil Rights, Enforcement, & Environmental Justice (OCREEJ) no more than 45 days after the discriminatory act or the effective date of the action. A limited inquiry will be made, followed by attempts to resolve the problem informally in a speedy manner. If this cannot be achieved with 30 days of contacting OCREEJ, a "Notice of Right to File a Discrimination Complaint" issues, after which you have 15 calendar days to file a complaint. Formal Complaint A formal complaint must be received in writing by the Office of Civil Rights, (OCR) or the Regional/Area EEO Officer within 180 days of the original act of discrimination, though in some states this can be extended to 300 days. Thanks to the Lilly Ledbetter Act, which was the first bill signed into law by President Barack Obama, the 180-day requirement resets with each paycheck in which pay discrimination occurs. The complaint must include your name, address and telephone number, the name, address and telephone number of the offending employer, agency, or union and a short explanation of the violation (including the date it occurred). Based on the written complain, the agency decides whether or not to accept the charges and conduct an investigation. Once the investigation is complete, a report issues to the complainant, who has the right to request a hearing before an EEOC Administrative Judge. The request for a hearing gives you the right, once approved by the judge to gather information and request documents and testimony as evidence of your claim. The judge makes a decision based on the information presented at the hearing, after which you have 30 days to file an appeal with the EEOC. If you still have not received justice, you have the right to file a civil action in U.S. District Court within 90 days of the final decision in your EEOC complaint. Read more: EEOC Discrimination Complaint Process | eHow http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4925850_eeoc-discrimination-complaint-process.html#ixzz2U1sCNCdb Prepare for an EEOC Investigation 1 Learn the 10 types of illegal discrimination in the workplace. Employers are not permitted to discriminate against employees for age, gender, disability, national origin, race, religion, pregnancy or as a means of retaliation. They also may not allow sexual harassment in the workplace and must provide equal pay for equal work. 2 Engage an attorney. An EEOC investigation is a legal proceeding with legal consequences. If your company does not already have an attorney on staff or retainer, get one. Sponsored Links Present Your Case - Free Talk to Lawyers in Your Area Today Fast, Free & Confidential Service www.PresentYourCase.com 3 Give the EEOC any documentation it requests. You may be asked to provide the EEOC investigator with personnel files, pay records and copies of your company's employee handbook. The more promptly you submit the requested information, the faster the investigation will progress. 4 Find witnesses. If any of your employees or contractors can verify your claims, ask them to provide testimony on your behalf. Witnesses can make or break a case in an EEOC investigation. 5 Provide a written statement to the EEOC (known as a "Statement of Position") that presents your side of the story. This document should note any disagreements you have with the complainant's charges. Your company's legal department or your attorney can help you prepare this statement. 6 Be patient. It takes an average of 182 days for an EEOC investigation to finish. You'll find more information about the process on the EEOC Web site (see Resources below). Read more: How to Prepare for an EEOC Investigation | eHow http://www.ehow.com/how_2036885_prepare-eeoc-investigation.html#ixzz2U1qrxigU Allegory of the Five monkeys Once there was a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hung a banana on a string with a set of stairs under it. Before long, one of the monkeys would attempt to climb the stairs towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, all of the monkeys are sprayed with cold water. After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result. All the monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon, none of the monkeys will try to climb the stairs. Having learned their lesson, the cold water is put away. One monkey is removed from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted. Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm. Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then a fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked. Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey. After replacing all of the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana. Why not? Because as far as they know, that's the way it's always been done. Whether monkeys in a cage, crabs in a bucket or parents giving their paradigm to their children, it is clear that socialization shapes our thoughts, influences our behaviors and demands our compliance. Once their was a cage containing five monkeys.
Inside the cage, hung a banana on a string with a set of stairs under it.
Before long, one of the monkeys would attempt to climb the stairs towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, all of the monkeys are sprayed with cold water. After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result. All the monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon, none of the monkeys will try to climb the stairs.
Having learned their lesson, the cold water is put away. One monkey is removed from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.
After replacing all of the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana. Why not? Because as far as they know, that's the way it's always been done. Whether monkeys in a cage, crabs in a bucket or parents giving their paradigm to their children, it is clear that socialization shapes our thoughts, influences our behaviors and demands our compliance.
And I want to say tonight -- I want to say tonight that I too am happy that I didn't sneeze. Because if I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1960, when students all over the South started sitting-in at lunch counters. And I knew that as they were sitting in, they were really standing up for the best in the American dream, and taking the whole nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1961, when we decided to take a ride for freedom and ended segregation in inter-state travel. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1962, when Negroes in Albany, Georgia, decided to straighten their backs up. And whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they are going somewhere, because a man can't ride your back unless it is bent. If I had sneezed -- If I had sneezed I wouldn't have been here in 1963, when the black people of Birmingham, Alabama, aroused the conscience of this nation, and brought into being the Civil Rights Bill. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have had a chance later that year, in August, to try to tell America about a dream that I had had. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been down in Selma, Alabama, to see the great Movement there. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been in Memphis to see a community rally around those brothers and sisters who are suffering. I'm so happy that I didn't sneeze. |
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