Human Resource Blog

EEOC Complaint

If an employee files a complaint with the EEOC, can this make it harder for other companies to hire this person? My friend “Agnes” is reluctant to file a complaint because she thinks this can be disclosed to other companies and she is searching for other jobs. Also, the retaliation happened 10 months ago in January 07, would it be too late to file a complaint? Thank you for all your help.

It may be too late for Agnes to file an EEOC complaint, but it’s worth looking into anyway.

If Agnes is looking for a job, she need not fear that other companies will refuse to hire her because she has lodged a complaint with the EEOC in the past. That would be illegal discrimination (and/or retaliation) under the law.

In fact, employers are not even allowed to ask if an employee has ever filed a discrimination complaint or suit against an employer. If an employer does slip up and ask this, Agnes can simply say that she’d rather not answer.

Most employers won’t give out this type of negative information about an employee or former employee, either. That’s because they are afraid of being sued if the employee can’t find a new job.

In general, a discrimination complaint must be filed with the EEOC within 180 days of the incident of discrimination or retaliation. That’s 180 days from the last incident of discrimination, not 180 days from the first incident of discrimination.

The only exception to the 180-day rule is if Agnes works in a state with its own anti-discrimination law. Under federal law, if Agnes is in a state with a state anti-discrimination law, the federal deadline is also extended to 300 days.

Many states do have anti-discrimination laws. Under state law, the employee often has 300 days to 2 years to make a complaint with the state agency.

However, it’s possible that the EEOC would consider Agnes’ reassignment to another department as ongoing retaliation…meaning she would have 180 days after she stopped working there, to file a charge. The best way to find this out for sure is to file the complaint with the EEOC. Their attorneys will determine if Agnes has a case, free of charge. If she does, the EEOC will bring the suit against the employer. Again, this is at no charge to Agnes.

When a complaint is filed, the EEOC conducts an investigation. If it finds that discrimination or retaliation has taken place, the EEOC will often try to mediate a settlement between the employer and the employee. Often, this will include the employee being restored to their former position. It may also include back wages. If the employer and employee are unable to reach an agreement, then the EEOC will file suit.

By law, the EEOC complaint must be filed before the employee sues the employer for discrimination. Once the employee hires a lawyer and files a suit, it’s too late to involve the EEOC.