Summary. Fifteen sequences. §1 is this week and nothing else matters if it is missed.

1. THIS WEEK — find your deadline

  • A charge must generally be filed within 180 DAYS of the discriminatory act — 300 in most states
  • You generally cannot skip it. A timely charge is a precondition to suing on Title VII, ADEA, and ADA claims
  • Each discrete act starts its own clock — termination, failure to promote, denied transfer
  • Hostile work environment is different — timely if any contributing act falls within the window
  • Each discriminatory paycheck restarts the pay clock
  • Find out today, free: call the EEOC · call the state fair employment agency · take a free consultation. Twenty minutes.
  • If you are close and not ready: FILE ANYWAY. A charge can be amended. A missed deadline cannot.

2. Document — before memory and access are gone

  • Incident log: date · time · what was said verbatim · who · who was present · where
  • Email each entry to your personal account the same day — a dated email you control survives a locked-out work account
  • Do NOT record without checking your state's consent rule — a crime in some states, and frequently inadmissible
  • Save every performance evaluation, especially the good ones. A sudden negative review after years of positive ones is the strongest pretext evidence there is — and it exists only if you kept the earlier ones
  • Commendations, awards, positive emails — forward to yourself
  • The handbook and any policy you might be accused of violating
  • Offer letter, job description, pay records

3. Comparators — answer these now

  • Who else violated this policy, and what happened to them?
  • Who else had this attendance record? Performance rating? Customer complaint?
  • Who else requested the same accommodation or schedule?
  • Who was hired, promoted, or retained instead of you, and what were their qualifications?
  • Names, dates, and who else knows — write them down while you still have access
  • Useful comparators share: same supervisor · same standards · comparable conduct · similar position and history · a meaningfully different outcome
  • DO NOT take company documents you are not authorized to have · access systems you should not · forward confidential personnel or client information. Each creates an independent problem and has cost strong plaintiffs their cases. Write down what you observed instead.

4. Complain internally — IN WRITING

  • The single most important procedural step available to an employee
  • It may fix the problem
  • It removes the employer's harassment affirmative defense — which requires showing you unreasonably failed to use the complaint procedures
  • It creates the retaliation claim if anything changes afterward
  • NAME THE PROTECTED CHARACTERISTIC. A complaint about "unfair treatment" may not be protected activity; a complaint about treatment because of a protected characteristic is.
  • Use the employer's stated procedure · keep a copy · note the date · forward to your personal email
  • Ask for a written response

5. After you complain — the retaliation log

  • Log everything that changes, the same day: hours · assignments · evaluations · exclusion · scrutiny · discipline · schedule · access
  • Note the timeline. You complained on the 4th; they acted on the 11th. Proximity is the proof.
  • Ask in writing: "Could you tell me in writing why [the change] was made?"
  • Keep performing — a genuine decline is the employer's best defense
  • Understand: a wrong complaint is still protected if made in good faith. You can lose the discrimination claim and win retaliation.
  • Understand: retaliation covers actions that would dissuade a reasonable worker from complaining, even without affecting terms and conditions of employment

6. Choose the agency

  • EEOC, the state or local fair employment agency, or both
  • ASK EXPLICITLY: "Does filing here also constitute filing with [the other agency]? Do I need to request dual filing?" Do not assume a work-sharing agreement.
  • State agencies frequently cover MORE: more protected characteristics · smaller employers (some as few as one) · longer deadlines · no damages caps
  • Federal thresholds: 15 employees (Title VII, ADA) · 20 (ADEA). If the federal door is closed, the state door frequently is not.

7. Drafting the charge — this shapes what you can litigate

  • Claims not reasonably related to the charge can be dismissed for failure to exhaust
  • Check EVERY box that applies: race · color · religion · sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity) · national origin · age · disability · genetic information · RETALIATION · any state-law characteristic
  • Check every type of harm: termination · failure to hire · failure to promote · demotion · discipline · harassment / hostile environment · failure to accommodate · unequal pay · transfer · constructive discharge
  • Dates, especially the most recent act — it establishes timeliness
  • Mark "continuing action" where conduct is ongoing
  • Include a comparator paragraph and a complaint-and-retaliation paragraph
  • Keep it factual and specific — not a brief
  • Get a free consultation before filing. Twenty minutes on which boxes to check frequently preserves claims dismissed two years later on exhaustion grounds.

8. Confirm the filing

  • The intake questionnaire is not always the charge
  • Confirm in writing that a charge has been filed, and get the charge number
  • Confirm the dual filing question in writing
  • Keep a copy of everything submitted

9. The process

  • Employer is notified and files a position statement — REQUEST A COPY and respond. It locks them into a stated reason, and a reason that later shifts is pretext evidence.
  • Mediation — voluntary, confidential, frequently early, resolves a meaningful share. Bring a lawyer if you can; the release will be broad and final.
  • Investigation — depth varies enormously. Respond promptly to every request. Provide witness and comparator names.
  • Determination — cause, dismissal, or closure without a finding
  • Right-to-sue letter

10. THE SECOND DEADLINE

  • 90 DAYS from the right-to-sue letter to file suit. Unforgiving.
  • Calendar it the day the letter arrives
  • Start calling lawyers immediately — many will not take a case with two weeks left, because there is no time to evaluate it
  • A dismissal is NOT a merits determination. Most charges close without deep investigation, and dismissed charges are won in court regularly.
  • You can request a right-to-sue letter early in many circumstances, generally after 180 days from filing

11. Responding to the position statement

  • Comparators — name them, with dates and what happened to them
  • Shifting explanations — what you were told at the time versus what they now say
  • Deviation from policy — quote the policy section and show it was followed for others
  • Timing — the complaint date and the action date
  • Documents contradicting the assertion
  • Witnesses, with contact information

12. Severance and releases

  • You generally cannot be barred from filing a charge — but personal monetary recovery can be released
  • ADEA releases have special rules: 21-day consideration period (45 in a group termination, with disclosure of ages and titles of those selected and not selected) · 7-day revocation after signing · advice to consult an attorney · consideration beyond what you were already owed. A non-compliant release does not release the age claim.
  • Consideration must be extra — accrued wages and vacation you were already owed are not consideration
  • Negotiate. More money · agreed reference · continued benefits · outplacement · MUTUAL non-disparagement · carve-out preserving unemployment eligibility · removal of a non-compete · neutral characterization
  • Take the full consideration period. Get a consultation. DO NOT SIGN IN THE ROOM.
  • Your charge deadline is running regardless of whether you sign

13. Adjacent claims — different deadlines, sometimes better remedies

  • Section 1981 (race, in contracting) — no employee threshold · no charge requirement · longer limitations · NO DAMAGES CAP
  • Equal Pay Act — no charge requirement
  • FMLA interference and retaliation
  • Whistleblower statutes — safety, fraud, securities, health care, environmental, wage. Some deadlines as short as 30 DAYS.
  • State common law — wrongful discharge in violation of public policy · defamation · breach of contract
  • Union grievance timelines — frequently days, and they do not substitute for a charge
  • Public employees — constitutional and civil service protections, different procedures and deadlines
  • Tell your lawyer EVERYTHING that happened, not just the part that sounds like discrimination. The claim with the shortest deadline is frequently the one nobody mentioned.

14. While the charge is pending

  • Keep working and keep performing, if still employed
  • Keep the log going
  • MITIGATE if terminated — job search records, applications, rejections, interviews, dates. Back pay is reduced by what you earned or reasonably could have earned. Keep every offer, including declined ones and why.
  • File for unemployment — a separate system; benefits do not undermine the claim, and the employer's stated reason there can differ from the reason given the EEOC, which is useful
  • Be careful what you post — social media is discoverable
  • Do not discuss the charge widely with potential witnesses
  • Respond promptly to the agency — charges are closed for failure to cooperate
  • Track your damages as you go: lost wages · lost benefits · out-of-pocket costs · medical or counseling expenses · dates

15. Talking to a lawyer

  • Most offer a free consultation, and fee shifting means a prevailing plaintiff recovers fees from the employer
  • Bring: incident log and timeline · all performance evaluations · the written complaint and any response · termination or separation documents · any severance agreement · handbook and policies · comparator list · pay records · key dates
  • Ask: What is my deadline and how much is left? · Which statutes apply, including Section 1981 and the Equal Pay Act? · Does my state cover more? · Which agency? · What should the charge say? · Is there a retaliation claim? · Realistic range? · Any shorter deadline on an adjacent claim? · What does this cost me?
  • If no private lawyer: the agencies take charges directly and their staff will help · legal aid · law school clinics. All free.

Related documents

Educational only, not legal advice. State and local fair employment law is frequently broader than federal law. Find out your deadline immediately — it is the one thing that cannot be fixed later.