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White Plains Employment Attorney Discusses Filing a Claim with the EEOC

On Behalf of | Jun 20, 2016 | Uncategorized

As an experienced White Plains Employment Attorney I am often asked about filing claims with the EEOC.  To assert a federal claim of discrimination in court, you must take the preliminary step of filing a claim of discrimination with the EEOC. Up until recently the EEOC took little attention on most claims that were filed, the EEOC has 180 days to investigate your claim, but never had the sufficient staff to investigate the claim. After 190 days, the EEOC can advise you that they can’t get to your complaint and they may issue you a right to sue your attorney or you may ask for a right to sue before that 180 day period is up.  At that juncture you can go to federal court within 90 days and ascertain your complaint that you have filed. If you duly filed a complaint with the EEOC that is an allegation that you must make in your federal complaint to assert a federal claim of discrimination.

Recently, we are seeing the EEOC actually fulfilling what was one of its designated functions which is attempting to mediate the complaints before they ever get to federal court and in our office we have had in the last number of weeks two meditations with a federal mediator, an experienced employee of the EEOC who actually came to White Plains sat with the parties with the attorneys for that day and actually resolved those disputes in favor of the employee prior to suing in federal court. We are seeing now the employers lawyers wanting to have that mediation, which is really a change and we have a number of meditations that are scheduled in the next couple of months. We are thinking now that the EEOC may be that avenue to resolution as opposed to what it used to be an avenue to file and wait before you could go to court.

Do you have questions about filing a claim with the EEOC?  If so, contact the experienced White Plains Employment Attorney Jane Gould.

This informational blog post was provided by Kim Berg, an experienced White Plains, New York Employment Attorney.