Personnel specialists report that dealing with the
complexities of a discrimination claim can be an unpleasant
experience. If a fired employee has an opportunity to file a
discrimination claim through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC),
the agency has the option of rejecting the claim, looking further into it
through a formal investigation, giving the employee a "right to sue"
letter and, potentially ordering the employee be granted relief, which can be
costly.
After initial review and if the agency can't get the
employer and employee mediate their dispute, EEOC may dismiss the charge with
the finding that it has no jurisdiction, that the complaint wasn't filed in a
timely manner, that the employee has not been cooperative enough with the
investigation or that the employee's case is not strong enough for the agency to
grant relief.
But even if the agency backs off, it may
still issue the complainer a "right to sue" letter that authorizes a
lawsuit to be filed in federal court within 90 days. Many county employees have
obtained thousands of dollars in damages through these private suits, and even
when they've failed, many counties have spent thousands on attorneys to defend
their officials.
If EEOC decides to look more seriously into the
allegations, then the first step is that the employer gets notice that an
investigation is occurring, with a form to fill out about the complaining
employee. Filling out that form may well result in having to compile paperwork
that runs about a foot high -- seriously. It could include submitting a copy of
your personnel policy (if you have one), a record of previous terminations and
the reasons for them, personnel records of employees who hold similar positions
or any thing else that might reflect employment practices in your department or
countywide.
Then, if the agency agrees with the employee's
accusation, it can order the employer to reinstate the employee, usually with
back pay, as well as order the employer to cease and desist from its practices.
The agency could, for example, require an official to develop his own
affirmative action plan which could affect all future hiring, potentially for
the entire county.
Finally, even if EEOC agrees that the county is
not guilty of discriminatory practices, the employee may still request and
receive a right-to-sue letter, which indicates the employee is welcome to pursue
the matter through a private attorney. Such a letter may be used by the
employee's attorney (rightly or wrongly) to allege that the discrimination claim is
justified.