State and federal laws protect employees from workplace discrimination because of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, and in other situations. Federal anti-discrimination laws include Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.
Employment discrimination may be addressed in the courts, but only after the employee first “exhausts” remedies available through the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO). These agencies address discrimination claims only, not other employment-related claims such as family medical leave or contractual claims.
The process before the CHRO or EEOC begins with filing a complaint, which can be done either by the employee or by counsel.
The CHRO has some flexibility in terms of how it may handle a claim. The process before the CHRO can mimic formal litigation, e.g., the Commission conducts an initial case assessment review to determine whether CHRO will retain jurisdiction. CHRO may either “release” or retain jurisdiction. If it retains jurisdiction, there will be a formal process that may include mediation. All of this is helpfully summarized on the CHRO website. Throughout the process, the CHRO’s job is to act as a neutral party.
In many situations, both the CHRO and EEOC will both have jurisdiction over a discrimination claim. Fortunately, the federal EEOC has a “work sharing agreement” with state agencies including the CHRO in Connecticut. Among other things, this means that a complaint filed with CHRO can be “cross-filed” with EEOC. Nevertheless, there are situations that can only be addressed by either the CHRO or the EEOC. For instance, the state discrimination law in Connecticut applies to employers with at least three employees. The federal statute applies only to employers with fifteen or more employees.
Timing and deadlines are critical in EEOC and CHRO matters. The employee must file a CHRO claim within 180 days of learning of the allegedly discriminatory action. Federal law allows an additional 120 days.
A claimant must obtain a “Right to Sue” letter before filing most types of discrimination claims. This letter simply means that a complaint was not resolved administratively. The blasé reference for this letter obscures a very important point for claimants: the letter starts the clock ticking for very short period – 90 days – in which a claimant must file a lawsuit.
Because of these deadlines and complexities related to state and federal law, discrimination claims can be more complex and riskier for self-represented employees than other employment-related situations.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s). This content is provided as background and does not constitute legal advice. For more information or to schedule a consultation, please contact us.
Recent Comments