According to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing Annual Reports, the various trend lines, studies and statistics shown in employment/discrimination cases throughout nearly the past decade have shown a decreased progression.
once you are hired, in most jobs, you are required to fill out an Equal Employment OPPORTUNITY (eeo) form, a compliance survey mandated by federal regulations. It asks for your race/ETHNICITY, gender and job position to ensure equality.
The most common process to file an employment discrimination complaint is through eeo (found on their website):
- EEO Counselor: Contact an EEO Counselor at the agency you work or applied. You are given the choice to be sent to sent to EEO counseling or other mediation programs. If you cannot settle the dispute in counseling, you can file a formal complaint.
- Filing A Formal Complaint: EEO will review the complaint and will either dismiss it for procedural reasons (i.e. filed too late) or will investigate further into the complaint. Either request a hearing before an EEOC Administrative Judge or ask the agency to issue a decision as to whether the discrimination occurred.
- Agency Issues A Decision: If you ask the agency to issue a decision and no discrimination is found, or if you disagree with some part of the decision, you can revise the decision to EEOC or challenge it in federal district court.
- Requesting A Hearing: Once the agency receives the Administrative Judges decision, the agency will issue what is called a final order which will tell you whether the agency agrees with the Administrative Judge and if it will grant any relief the judge ordered. The agency will have 40 days to issue the final order. It will also contain information about your right to appeal to EEOC, your right to file a civil action (legal proceeding that does not violate any criminal laws and is filed by an individual or an organization that has been harmed) in federal district court, and the deadline for filing both an appeal and a civil action.
- Filing An Appeal Of The Agency's Final Order: EEOC appellate attorneys will review the entire file, including the agency's investigation, the decision of the Administrative Judge, the transcript of what was said at the hearing (if there was a hearing), and any appeal statements. If the agency disagrees with any part of the Administrative Judge's decision, it must appeal to EEOC.
- Request For Reconsideration Of The Appeal Decision: If you do not agree with the EEOC's decision on your appeal, you can ask for a reconsideration of that decision. A request for reconsideration is only granted if you can show that the decision is based on a mistake about the facts of the case or the law applied to the facts. Other than that, once EEO have made a decision on your request for reconsideration, the decision is final.
- Filing A Lawsuit: You may file a lawsuit against the agency at this point.