Which employers are covered
The main federal statutes apply by size. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act reach employers with fifteen or more employees, and the age discrimination law reaches those with twenty or more and protects workers of forty and over. Sex discrimination includes pregnancy and, since a 2020 Supreme Court decision, sexual orientation and gender identity. State and city laws often cover much smaller employers and add categories such as marital status, and the state civil rights agency's site lists them.
What counts and what does not
The law forbids an adverse action, such as a refusal to hire, a firing, a demotion or lower pay, taken because of a protected trait. It forbids harassment over such a trait that is severe or pervasive enough to change the conditions of work. It requires reasonable accommodation of a disability, a pregnancy or a religious practice unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship. It also forbids retaliation against anyone who complains or serves as a witness, and retaliation is the most common charge filed with the EEOC. The law does not forbid a rude manager or favoritism toward a friend.
The order of operations
- Write down each incident with the date, the words used and the witnesses, and keep the notes at home.
- Complain in writing through the channel your handbook names, because an employer that was never told often has a defense.
- File a charge with the EEOC, or with your state agency, which usually shares it with the EEOC.
- Wait for the agency to investigate or offer mediation, and then to issue a notice of right to sue.
- File any lawsuit within ninety days of that notice.
The charge deadline is 180 calendar days from the act, extended to 300 days in states with their own agency and law. Federal employees have only 45 days to contact their agency's equal employment counselor. You generally cannot sue under these statutes without filing a charge first.
Beyond the workplace
Housing discrimination complaints go to the Department of Housing and Urban Development within one year. Lenders may not discriminate in credit decisions, and businesses open to the public may not refuse service on grounds such as race or religion.
Many employment lawyers offer a free first consultation and take strong cases on contingency. See one well before the deadline, and always before you sign a severance agreement.
Note Filing a charge is free and needs no lawyer, and it preserves your rights while you decide what to do next.
