Employee discrimination has been on the increase over the past years. There are various forms of employment discrimination which include unfair treatment due to an individual’s characteristics such as race, gender, origin, genetic information, physical challenge or religion. Employee discrimination can also be termed as harassment by managers, co-workers or others in your workplace because of color, sex, religion, etc. It might go to an extreme case to denial of a reasonable workplace accommodation that you need because of your religious beliefs or disability and to a large extend because you complained about discrimination or assisted in a job discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
Upon someone being discriminated at work, there is an option of him or her to file a charge in a court of law as enforced by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This is in addition to the Equal Pay Act which demands an individual to file a discrimination charge prior to filing a suit with regard to job discrimination on the employer. When the discriminated are afraid to file a charge, the other party can opt to file the lawsuit on behalf of that individual. It is a requirement for an employer to have a given number of employees in order to be covered. However, the number varies according to the type of employer. In addition, the type of discrimination is also a determinant of whether an individual can be covered.
First, the employee has to know if the employer is covered by the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and in the process protected, the employee must also be aware of the timeline in relation to how long one has to file a charge. It is paramount that the employee is aware of the procedure to follow in filing a charge and the associated remedies. In addition, individuals are required to be conversant with the type of discrimination which can either be in terms of age, sexual harassment, religion, genetic information, national origin, pregnancy, compensation and equal pay. Knowledgeability helps a lot in ensuring that the right discrimination is dealt with precisely (US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d, para.1).
The anti-discrimination law gives a person limited time to file a charge of discrimination (you need to file a charge within the 180 days that the discrimination is purposely said to have happened). It is important to file a case immediately despite the amount of time available to an individual upon being convinced that that is the best option. The EEOC is not in a position to grant an extension of the time limit offered for filing the case in a situation where one is trying to resolve the issue in some other tribunal such as arbitration, union grievance, an internal grievance procedure or mediation. However, it is advisable to pursue other dispute resolution procedures while processing the charge through the EEOC (US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d, para.2).
In case an employee is faced with multiple discriminatory events, the deadline applies for each particular event. However, in case of ongoing harassment, the charge must be filed within the duration of 180 to 300 days since the occurrence of the last harassment incident. However, different deadlines apply while filing a charge in relation to the Equal Pay Act violation. The Act stipulates that there should not be any form of discrimination on the basis of gender in relation to wages and other benefits.
When one has been aggrieved by the employer there has to be a way by which the problem has to be solved and that is why the EEOC comes in to ensure that there is proper mediation. In a good process of solving problems, both sides should be listened to so as to get the true picture at glance. Normally all the sides are called to give their case. After one has really proven that he has a case to charge then they can file a charge of discrimination. It is a legal requirement for one to file a charge to EEOC prior to filing a suit in relation to the employer. In an effort to protect the affected individual’s identity, an institution or agency may file the charge in place of the affected party.
An individual may be requested to resolve the issue between them through mediation. This is an informal method of resolving conflicts that are necessitated by a neutral mediator. The mediator is neutral and at the same time keeps the process confidential. Upon the mediation not resolving the issue, the case is passed to an investigator. If no violations are found, a notice giving the individual right to sue is issued. However, if any form of violation is found, the EEOC tries to attain a voluntary settlement between the parties involved. A settlement that is not reached is referred to a particular legal staff. This individual determines whether a lawsuit should be filed by the agency. If not, the individual is issued with a notice giving him the right to sue. A charge which has a limited probability of success is dismissed without any form of mediation or investigation (US Courts, 2010, p.1).
Reference List
US Courts. (2010). The federal judiciary: civil litigation conference. Web.
US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (N.d). Employee and job applicant. Web.