Legal Process Paper

Legal Process Paper

John Doe is an employee in a private sector organization and wishes to file a discrimination complaint against his employerÐ'...what does he need to do in order to see this through? The great thing today is employees who suspect they have been a victim of employment discrimination may file a charge or a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, pg 88). In order to fully understand what this means, let's dig a little deeper and identify the necessary steps to see John's claim through.

For starters, John needs to go to his nearest EEOC office and file an EEOC complaint or he can mail his complaint to the EEOC office. (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, pg. 91 & www.eeoc.gov). You may be wonderingÐ'....who can file a charge of discrimination? The answer is any individual who feels their employment rights have been violated in some way may file a claim with the EEOC. In addition, an individual, organization or agency may also file a charge on behalf of another individual in order to offer protection of the individuals' identity (www.eeoc.gov).

After the complaint is filed with the EEOC, the EEOC will serve notice of the charge with John's employer. This notice must be given to the employer within 10 days of the claim with the EEOC (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, pg 89). Keep in mind that John has to file his claim with the EEOC within 180 days from the date of the alleged discriminatory act as a nonfederal employee and would only be given 45 days as a federal employee to file the same claim. If this charge is covered by a state or local anti-discrimination law an additional 120 days are granted (www.eeoc.gov).

Next comes a referral to mediateÐ'...so what does that mean exactly? After the complaint has been filed and the employer has been notified, a mediation referral may be suggested. If a case is weak or extremely complex, the EEOC may not offer mediation, however if mediation is felt necessary, both parties will be sent letters offering mediation and the decision to accept the offer is voluntary for both parties. Each side will have 10 days to respond and if both parties decide to accept the mediation, the charge must be mediated within 60 days for in-house mediation or 45 days for external mediation (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, pg. 90).

If the parties do choose to mediate, during their mediation they will have an opportunity to present their positions, express their opinions, provide nay necessary information and express their request for a remedy. Any information that is shared during these sessions will not be revealed to anyone, including members of the EEOC. If the parties involved do reach an agreement, that agreement would be as binding as any other settlement agreement (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, pg. 90).

If the parties involved choose for some reason not to mediate or if the mediation is unsuccessful, the charge will be referred back to the EEOC for them to investigate the complaint by speaking with the employer and employee and any other pertinent witnesses. After this is done, the EEOC will determine if there is reasonable cause or none to charge the employer with discrimination. Once the EEOC has arrived at a decision, either party can ask for reconsideration of the EEOC's decision (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, pg. 90).

If the EEOC finds that there is reasonable cause for the employee to file a discrimination charge, it will then attempt to have the employee and employer conciliate the matter. This simply means that they will bring the parties together in a somewhat informal setting with an EEO investigator (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, pg. 90).

The investigator for the EEOC will basically summarize what has been found during their investigation and discuss with the employer and employee in what ways the matter can be resolved. Many employees merely would like for the employer to provide a positive letter of referral. The EEOC disposes of the majority of their claims within this stage of the process (Bennett-Alexander