John, an employee in a private sector organization, wants to file a discrimination complaint against his employer. His first step would be to go to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and file a charge of discrimination. He can either file this complaint in person at the nearest EEOC office or by mail (ôFiling a Charge of Employment Discriminationö). In order to file his charge, John needs to provide his name, address, and telephone number, a short description of the alleged violation, the date(s) of the alleged violation (ôFiling a Charge of Employment Discriminationö). There is a time constraint on filing this type of charge; John would have to file his complaint within 180 days of the alleged violation in order to protect his rights; only if the charge is also covered by a state or local anti-discrimination law would the filing deadline be extended to 300 days (ôFiling a Charge of Employment Discriminationö).
After the complaint is filed, JohnÆs employer is notified of the charge. If the charge is investigated, the EEOC can decide to settle that charge at any stage of the investigation if both parties agree to it; however, if the effort to settle does not succeed, the investigation has to continue (ôEEOCÆs Charge Processing Proceduresö). During the investigation, the EEOC can make written requests for information, talk to people, look at documents, and visit JohnÆs company; when the investigation is finished, the EEOC will discuss the evidence with John or his employer, as appropriate (ôEEOCÆs Charge Processing Proceduresö).
If both John and his company agree, the charge may be selected for EEOCÆs mediation program as an alternative to a lengthy investigation (ôEEOCÆs Charge Processing Proceduresö). Lawyers may or may not be present for mediation, but if the mediation is not successful, the charge will have to be investigated (ôFacts About Mediationö). It is to the advantage of bot...