Employment discrimination is one of the most common issues in the United States. Almost every day, an applicant or a current or former employee gets involved in a discriminatory act by an employer or a co-employee. He or she is discriminated against in all aspects of employment because of being a part of the protective class. Employers and/or co-workers usually discriminate against an individual for his or her:
• Race
• Color
• Religion
• Sexual orientation
• National origin
• Age
• Disability or genetic information
If a person is believed to have been discriminated against at work because of being a part of a protective class listed above, he or she can actually file a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
About the EEOC
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that is responsible for imposing federal employment laws, particularly those that prohibit erring parties to discriminate against an applicant or an employee because of the person’s protective class. Also, the EEOC enforces federal employment laws that will charge a business entity for discriminating against the person for taking action of such.
The EEOC’s implementation of federal employment laws covers all aspects of employment, from hiring, termination, promotion, harassment, training, wages, and benefits. Basically, the EEOC’s role is to investigate discrimination charges against employers. They will review and assess the points of allegation and try to come up with a conclusive finding. If discrimination occurred in the charge, the EEOC will settle it, in which the employer is set to pay a specific amount worth of damages to the claimant.
Filing a discrimination charge
The EEOC covers all laws that prevent an employer from discriminating against an employee, as long as the employer has 15 or more employees (except for age discrimination cases that cover a company with 20 or more employees). It is a requirement for the employee or applicant to file a Charge of Discrimination with the EEOC before he or she can file a discrimination lawsuit against the employer.
Before the person can file an EEOC charge against the employer, they will first go through an informal mediation process. It is done to resolve any disputes in hopes that the charge will no longer be investigated further. A mediator of neutral standing oversees the confidential proceedings. If this does not resolve any problems between the two parties, the EEOC will then begin the investigation.
The investigation of the discrimination charge may result into many scenarios. If the investigation finds that the employer did not violate any discrimination laws, then the discriminated employee is given a Notice of Right to Sue. This means that he or she is given the opportunity to file a lawsuit against the erring employer. If there is a violation of a certain discrimination law, then the EEOC will attempt to reach a settlement with the employer.