Every state
Workplace discrimination and harassment attorneys near you
Treated differently because of who you are, or harassed and ignored when you reported it.
Deadline, in general
Generally 180 days to file with the EEOC, 300 where a state agency also covers the claim, then 90 days to sue after the right-to-sue notice.
Federal law prohibits discrimination and harassment based on race, colour, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, age from forty, disability and genetic information. Many states go further, reaching smaller employers and adding characteristics such as sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, military status and medical condition. Which set protects you depends on where you work and how many people your employer has.
It also requires an employer to engage with a disability: if a condition limits what you can do, they must have a genuine conversation about accommodating it rather than moving straight to removing you. Failing to hold that conversation is itself a violation.
Tell us what happened
A few questions about your situation. It is free, and there is no obligation of any kind.
This may be your situation if
- —Comments about your accent, age, religion, pregnancy or disability are routine.
- —You reported harassment and nothing happened, or things got worse.
- —You were refused an accommodation your doctor asked for.
- —Assignments, hours or promotions changed after you disclosed a condition or a pregnancy.
- —You are held to a standard others in the same role are not.
What an attorney generally does here
- —Record what happened in a form that survives, with dates and witnesses.
- —File the administrative complaint that has to come before a lawsuit.
- —Force the accommodation conversation the employer skipped.
- —Obtain the internal investigation and the documents behind it.
- —Bring the retaliation claim where reporting it made things worse.
The deadline
Generally 180 days to file with the EEOC, 300 where a state agency also covers the claim, then 90 days to sue after the right-to-sue notice. Set by Title VII, the ADA and the ADEA, and your state’s fair employment statute.
Federal deadlines are much shorter, and public employers add their own notice rules. Where conduct is ongoing rather than a single event the analysis of when the clock started is different.
Worth gathering first
- —Dates and details of specific incidents, with names.
- —Every complaint you made and any response.
- —Doctor’s notes and any accommodation request.
- —Reviews and disciplinary records from before and after.
- —Names of anyone who witnessed it or experienced the same.
If you work in care
Care work is done overwhelmingly by immigrant women, and the complaints that reach advocacy groups are consistent: comments about accent and origin, refusal to adjust duties after an injury, and shifts quietly disappearing after a pregnancy is announced.
Common questions
Does my employer have to accommodate my disability?
Federal law, and most states, require a covered employer to engage in a good-faith interactive process and to provide reasonable accommodation unless it would cause undue hardship. Skipping the conversation is itself a violation.
What if I reported harassment and nothing was done?
An employer that knows about harassment and fails to take reasonable corrective action can be liable for it. Keep whatever shows they knew.
Does discrimination law apply to small employers?
Federal law generally reaches employers with fifteen or more employees, twenty for age claims. Many state statutes reach far smaller employers, some with as few as one, so a small employer is not automatically exempt.
How long do I have?
Generally 180 days to file with the EEOC, extended to 300 where a state agency also covers the claim, then 90 days to sue after the right-to-sue notice. Some state deadlines are longer, and related claims run on different clocks.
Related
This page is general information about how this kind of matter works in the United States, and the rules that matter most here are set state by state — the deadline where you live may be shorter than the general figure given above. It is not legal advice, it is not a substitute for advice about your own situation, and reading it or sending the form does not create an attorney-client relationship. Unified Savers is not a law firm and not a lawyer referral service. Deadlines stated are general rules and exceptions frequently make them shorter. See the disclaimer and privacy policy.