John is an employee in a private sector organization who wants to file a discrimination complaint against his employer for discrimination. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website online, there are a number of reasons that John can claim to be the victim of discrimination. Among the most common reasons for a discrimination complaint involve discrimination against John because of his age, sex, race, religion, national origin or disability. In many instances, both state and federal law provide protections against these and other forms of discrimination. It is important for employers to understand that companies can be guilty of some forms of discrimination without any intent to discriminate making a detailed understanding of discrimination laws important to every employer (Discriminatory Practices, 2002).
According to Paul Schechter in his book, the "California Labor Law Digest", employees have the right to pursue remedies for discrimination with state and federal agencies and in both state and federal court. In this scenario, the complaint begins with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC will conduct an investigation and try t broker a negotiated settlement. Occasionally, the EEOC will actually file suit on the complainant's behalf, but far more often the EEOC will issue what is called a "right to sue" letter to a complainant such as John spelling out his right to file a lawsuit in federal district court (Schechter, 2003).
According to the U.S. Courts official website, to begin a civil lawsuit in federal court, the plaintiff files a complaint with the court and "serves" a copy of the complaint on the defendant. The complaint describes the plaintiff's injury, explains how the defendant caused the injury, and asks the court to order relief. There are federal rules of evidence and procedure that must be followed in the federal court system. They are designed to promote sim...