EEOC Discrimination Claim Discrimination Complaints: A Case Study

John believes that he has been discriminated against by his employer, a private company. The nature of the alleged discrimination could be related to John's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age if 40 or older, disability, or genetic information (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC], 2010, p. 1; EEOC, n.d.). The Constitutional authority for filing a discrimination claim against an employer comes from a number of different acts, including the Civil Rights Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Equal Pay Act, and the Rehabilitation Act. The federal agency responsible for regulating and mediating such claims is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Protection against employer retaliation for filing a discrimination claim is also provided under these laws and regulations.

Pre-Complaint Procedures

The procedure for filing a discrimination complaint with the EEOC requires that the employee notify the employer of the grievance (EEOC, 2010, p. 5). This allows the company, or a union, the chance to resolve the complaint internally before the EEOC is contacted. This procedure must be completed in a timely manner, because EEOC regulations require John to make an initial contact with an EEOC counselor within 45 days of the discriminatory event, barring successful resolution of the grievance internally. This 45 day deadline may be extended if John can show he was not aware of the discriminatory event, or the 45 day deadline, in spite of due diligence on his part.

Once an initial contact with an EEOC counselor has been made, several options will likely be presented to John (EEOC, 2010, pp. 4-5). This includes extending the counseling period to provide time for less formal grievance procedures to run their course. If these fail then John is advised of his right to file a formal discrimination...

The entire process from the discriminatory event to the filing of a formal discrimination complaint with the EEOC cannot exceed 180 days, or if state or local laws also prohibit the alleged discriminatory act, 300 days. The pre-complaint procedures are therefore designed to provide every opportunity for the discrimination grievance to be resolved through less formal procedures, or in local or state courts, before a federal investigation begins.
Should John decide to file a civil lawsuit at the state level to recover alleged damages, these are typically heard at the superior court level (Arizona Judicial Branch, 2010). The parties to a civil suit may be required by state law to take part in a court-supervised arbitration procedure, depending on the amount of damages sought. Arbitration decisions are generally binding, but should a party appeal they are typically heard in the relevant superior court.

Appeals to superior court decisions are filed with the state court of appeals, which could decide to affirm the lower court's decision, reverse the decision, or send the case back for additional proceedings (Arizona Judicial Branch, 2010). If the John believes the appeals court decision is legally unsound, then he can request the state supreme court to review his case. If they grant a review they could affirm or reverse the lower court's decisions, or remand the case back to a lower court for further proceedings. Should John decide to appeal the decision of the state supreme court, he would have to file a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court requesting a review of his case.

Complaint Processing Procedures

Barring dismissal of the complaint by the EEOC for any number of reasons (EEOC, 2010, pp. 5-6) or obtaining a satisfactory resolution through state courts, an investigation is begun by the EEOC that must be completed within 180 days. This deadline can…