Employment Discrimination

Laws (state and federal) generally prohibit employers from discriminating against employees in the terms and conditions of their employment on the basis of the employees' race, national origin, sex (which has been extended to pregnancy), religion, age, and disability.

In most situations, it is illegal for an employer to refuse to hire, fire, otherwise discipline, deny training or promotion, pay less, or harass any employee on the basis of their membership in one of the protected classes. Employers are also prohibited from retaliating (taking adverse employment action including discharge, suspension, denial of a promotion and reduction of pay) against employees who complain of unlawful discrimination or otherwise assert their rights under the law. Employers who violate these laws can be required to pay damages to the employee who has suffered discrimination that will restore the employee to the economic position they would have been in if not for the unlawful conduct of the employer. Damages due to the employee may include back pay, future pay, and the value of lost employment benefits. A victim of employment discrimination may also receive compensation for emotional pain, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, inconvenience and other non-economic losses, up to certain statutory limits.

If you believe that you have been treated unfairly or have been discriminated against because of your membership in one or more of the protected classes, you can file a charge with either the:

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
  3300 N. Central Ave., #690
  Phoenix, AZ 85012
  (602) 640-5000

• Arizona Attorney General's Office
  Civil Rights Division (ACRD)
  1275 West Washington
  Phoenix, AZ 85007
  (602) 542-5263

Employment discrimination is unlawful under both federal and Arizona law. The EEOC enforces federal law, and the ACRD enforces Arizona law. You can file your charge of discrimination with either the EEOC or the ACRD, as long as you file by the proper deadlines (see below for more information on deadlines).  If you meet the deadlines, the agency you choose to file with will automatically file your charge with the other agency.  That way, you can file one charge that will start legal action under both federal and state law.

There is no cost to file a charge of discrimination, and you do not need to have a lawyer to file your charge.

Depending on the claim, you may have only 180 days from the date of the employer's discriminatory act to file a charge with the above agencies. It is critical to get your charge filed as soon as you can, so as to avoid missing a filing deadline and losing your claim.

You will need to know some things in order to fill out the charge form, whether you fill it out yourself or fill it out with the help of the EEOC or ACRD. The charge form should explain why you feel that you were treated unfairly by your employer because of your membership in one or more of the protected classes.  In order to complete the charge form, you will need to provide information, including but not limited to the following:

• Your name, address and telephone number. You will the “charging party."
• The employer's name, address, telephone number, and number of employees. They will be the “respondent."
• Whether you were treated unfairly or discriminated against because of your
  race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, or disability.
• A list of the unfair or discriminatory acts by the employer against you.
• The reasons you think you were treated unfairly.
• The details of what happened.
• Any papers or documents you have that related to, or that mention, the unfair treatment or discrimination.
• The names, addresses and home and work telephone numbers of witnesses, other people who may have seen or may know about the unfair treatment or discrimination.

After you file a charge, the EEOC or the ACRD will usually assign an investigator to review the charge. Within 10 days, the EEOC or the ACRD office will send a copy of your charge to the employer, and the employer must usually send a response within 30 days thereafter. The EEOC or the ACRD will then review the information provided.

The EEOC or the ACRD may give both of you a chance to provide more information, or ask for specific information from you or from the employer. They may interview witnesses, ask for more evidence, or request that you and the employer attend a meeting to discuss the charge or come to an agreement.

After reviewing the charge, the EEOC or the ACRD will let you know whether they have decided to dismiss your charge or continue their investigation. If the EEOC or the ACRD decide to dismiss your charge and not pursue it further, they will provide you with a “right to sue" letter.

If the EEOC or the ACRD decide to investigate your charge and they determine that the employer did  discriminate against you, they will try to get the employer to give you the relief that you deserve, such as back wages or discrimination awareness training. If the employer refuses, the EEOC or the ACRD will then give you a “right to sue" letter.

Once you have received a “right to sue" letter, if you wish to pursue this further, you may then file suit. This lawsuit must be filed within 90 days of receiving the right to sue letter, or you may forever lose your claims.

The law firm of Kielsky, Rike & Elgart, PLLC can assist you in filing your suit. In many cases, we may be able to accept an employment discrimination case on a contingency  fee basis (you pay no attorney's fees until the case is settled, and we take our fees as a percentage of the recovery, but regardless of outcome, you will have to pay all costs such as filing fees).