How to
I was discriminated against at work. How do I file an EEOC complaint (a charge)?
Key points
- Who
- Job applicants, employees and former employees of covered employers: most with 15 or more employees, 20 or more for age discrimination.
- Deadline
- File the charge within 180 days, or 300 days if a state or local agency enforces a law against the same discrimination. Equal Pay Act claims have their own deadline.
- How
- Start online in the EEOC Public Portal, where you click "I want to file a complaint", or call 1-800-669-4000. Then do an intake interview and sign the charge.
- Watch out
- After a Notice of Right to Sue, you have 90 days to file a lawsuit.
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What most people call an EEOC complaint is, legally, a charge of discrimination, and it is the official first step. A charge is a signed statement that an employer engaged in employment discrimination, and it asks the EEOC to act. In the EEOC Public Portal, you start by clicking "I want to file a complaint." Under every law the EEOC enforces except the Equal Pay Act, you must file a charge before you can sue your employer for discrimination.
The clock starts on the day it happened. In general you have 180 calendar days to file, extended to 300 days where a state or local agency enforces a law against the same kind of discrimination. If you are not sure how much time is left, contact the EEOC as soon as possible.
If you work for, or applied to, a federal agency, a different process applies, called the federal sector EEO complaint process: you generally must contact that agency's EEO Counselor within 45 days.
What counts as illegal discrimination at work
The EEOC enforces federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, transgender status and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. The laws apply to every part of work, including hiring, firing, promotions, harassment, training, wages and benefits. They protect you against:
- Unfair treatment because of one of these characteristics.
- Harassment by managers, co-workers or others in your workplace because of one of these characteristics.
- Denial of a reasonable accommodation you need because of your religious beliefs, a disability, or pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.
- Retaliation because you complained about job discrimination, or helped with a job discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, transgender status and sexual orientation) and national origin. Employers with 15 or more employees.42 U.S.C. § 2000e(b)
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Disability, including a reasonable accommodation for a qualified person unless it would cause significant difficulty or expense. Employers with 15 or more employees.42 U.S.C. § 12111(5)
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Age, for people 40 or older. Employers with 20 or more employees.29 U.S.C. § 630(b)
- Equal Pay Act. Equal pay for men and women who do substantially equal work in the same workplace. Covers virtually all employers.Equal Pay Act of 1963
- Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). A reasonable accommodation for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, unless it causes undue hardship. Employers with 15 or more employees.42 U.S.C. § 2000gg(2)
- Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). Genetic information, including family medical history, may not be used to make employment decisions. Employers with 15 or more employees.GINA, Title II
You are protected as an employee, a job applicant, a former employee, or an applicant or participant in a training or apprenticeship program.
Harassment at work is a form of discrimination
Harassment is unwelcome conduct based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, older age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. The EEOC says it becomes illegal when putting up with it becomes a condition of keeping your job, or when it is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile or abusive. EEOC: Harassment
Harassment because you filed a charge or took part in an investigation is workplace retaliation. A harassment charge is filed the same way as any other charge, by the same deadlines, counted from the last incident. EEOC: Harassment
Pregnancy discrimination: the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the PWFA
Pregnancy discrimination is against the law. Title VII, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, treats discrimination because of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions as sex discrimination: workers affected by them must be treated the same as others who are similar in their ability or inability to work. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(k)
- Title VII and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Covers current, past and potential pregnancy, and medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, including breastfeeding and lactation.42 U.S.C. § 2000e(k) · EEOC: Pregnancy discrimination
- Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). Private and public employers with 15 or more employees must make reasonable accommodations for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, unless that would impose an undue hardship. They may not make you accept an accommodation that wasn't arrived at through the interactive process, deny you a job opportunity because you need one, make you take leave if another accommodation would let you keep working, or take adverse action against you for asking for or using one.42 U.S.C. § 2000gg-1
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Pregnancy itself is not a disability, but a pregnancy-related impairment, such as diabetes that develops during pregnancy, can be one, and the employer may have to provide a reasonable accommodation for it.EEOC: Pregnancy discrimination
Workplace retaliation: speaking up is protected too
- No retaliation. An employer may not punish you because you opposed discrimination, filed a charge, or testified, assisted or took part in an investigation, proceeding or hearing.42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a)
Asserting your rights is called protected activity. For example, it is illegal to retaliate against you for:
- Filing, or being a witness in, a charge, complaint, investigation or lawsuit about discrimination.
- Talking to a supervisor or manager about discrimination, including harassment.
- Answering questions in your employer's investigation of alleged harassment.
- Refusing to follow orders that would result in discrimination.
- Resisting sexual advances, or stepping in to protect others.
- Asking for an accommodation for a disability or a religious practice.
- Asking managers or co-workers about pay to uncover possible pay discrimination.
Depending on the facts, retaliation can look like a lower performance review than you deserve, a transfer to a worse position, more scrutiny, threats, false rumors, or a schedule change meant to make your work harder. Complaining does not protect you from discipline for unrelated, legitimate reasons.
How long do I have to file a charge?
| Situation | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Most charges | 180 calendar days from the day the discrimination took place |
| A state or local agency enforces a law against the same kind of discrimination | 300 calendar days |
| Age discrimination | 300 days only if a state law bans age discrimination and a state agency enforces it. A local law alone does not extend the deadline. |
| Ongoing harassment | 180 or 300 days from the last incident. Earlier incidents are still looked at. |
| Equal Pay Act (sex-based pay) | No charge needed: go to court within 2 years of the last discriminatory paycheck, or 3 years if willful |
| Federal employees and job applicants | A different process: contact the agency's EEO Counselor, generally within 45 days |
- Each discriminatory event usually has its own deadline. If you were demoted and fired a year later, a charge filed after the firing may be too late for the demotion.
- Weekends and holidays count. If the last day falls on one, you have until the next business day.
- An internal complaint, a union grievance, arbitration or mediation before you file generally does not pause the deadline.
- A pay claim under Title VII still needs a charge, and filing it does not extend the Equal Pay Act deadline to go to court.
How to file an EEOC complaint (charge), step by step
- Check your deadline. Count from the day of each discriminatory act: 180 days, or 300 where a state or local agency enforces a similar law.
- Submit an inquiry in the EEOC Public Portal. At publicportal.eeoc.gov, click "I want to file a complaint" and answer a few questions: the type of employer, when it happened, why you believe you were discriminated against, how many employees the employer has and in which state.
- Schedule the intake interview. By phone, by video, or in person at one of the EEOC's 53 offices. You can also walk in to an office, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday; people with close deadlines are seen first.
- Tell your story in the interview. An EEOC staff member goes through your situation with you and helps you judge whether a charge is the right path. The final decision to file is yours.
- Sign the charge. After the interview, the charge can be completed through the Public Portal. It must carry your name and signature; the EEOC cannot investigate an unsigned charge.
- Follow your charge online. In the Portal you can update your contact details, upload documents that support your charge and check its status.
Other ways to start. You can call 1-800-669-4000: the EEOC does not take charges over the phone, but a representative can check whether the laws it enforces cover you and explain how to file. You can also mail a signed letter with your details, your employer's details, what happened, when, and why you believe it was discrimination.
State and local agencies. Many states and cities have their own fair employment practices agency. If you file there and federal law applies, the charge is dual-filed with the EEOC, so you do not need to file with both. You can tell the state or local agency that you also want the charge filed with the EEOC.
What to say in the intake interview
The EEOC asks for the facts it needs to decide whether the laws it enforces cover your situation: the dates, what happened, why you believe it was discrimination, the reason your employer gave, and who was treated better. The wording will vary. Specific answers, with dates and names, help.
“When did this happen, and what exactly happened?”
You can say: “On [date], my supervisor, [name], told me I was being demoted. I have the email she sent that afternoon.”
“Why do you believe it was discrimination?”
You can say: “I believe it was because of my age. I'm 58, and the two people who kept the role are in their twenties.”
“What reason did your employer give?”
You can say: “They said it was a restructuring, but they advertised my old job a month later.”
“Was anyone in a similar situation treated better?”
You can say: “Yes. [Name] and [name] had the same job and the same reviews, and they were not demoted.”
“How many people work for this employer?”
You can say: “About 40 at my location. I'm not sure of the total.”
What to gather before the interview
- Your name, address, email and phone number.
- Your employer's name, address, email and phone number, and roughly how many employees it has.
- The date of each thing that happened, such as a firing, a demotion or each incident of harassment.
- A short description of each action you believe was discriminatory.
- Why you believe it happened: the characteristic involved, or retaliation for a complaint.
- The reason your employer gave, if it gave one.
- Names of people in a similar situation who were treated better.
- Copies of documents that support your charge, to upload in the Public Portal.
- A letter of representation from your lawyer, if you have one.
What happens after you file
- Within 10 days
The EEOC sends a notice of the charge to the employer.
- Mediation, if offered
In some cases the EEOC invites you and the employer to mediation. It is voluntary, free and confidential. A neutral mediator helps you try to reach a settlement and does not decide who is right. When it works, mediation often settles a charge faster than an investigation, usually in less than 3 months.
- Investigation
Without mediation, or if it fails, the employer usually sends a written answer called a position statement. You can read it in the Portal, and the EEOC asks you to respond within 30 days. Investigations take about 10 months on average.
- The result
If the EEOC cannot determine whether the law was violated, it sends you a Notice of Right to Sue. If it finds the law may have been violated, it tries to settle with the employer; if that fails, its legal staff decide whether the agency will sue. If it does not sue, you get a Notice of Right to Sue.
- Notice of Right to Sue
For Title VII and ADA claims you need this notice before you can sue in federal court. You can ask for it once 180 days have passed since you filed, or earlier if the EEOC cannot finish within 180 days.
- 90 days to sue
Once you receive the notice, you have 90 days to file your lawsuit in federal or state court. If you miss it, you may be barred from going forward.
- If the laws the EEOC enforces do not apply, or the charge was filed too late, the EEOC closes it and tells you.
- If new discriminatory events happen after you file, contact your investigator right away. They can be added to your charge, but the filing deadlines still apply.
- If you want the EEOC to keep investigating, do not ask for a Notice of Right to Sue.
Can I handle this on my own, or do I need a lawyer?
You can start the EEOC process yourself, online, by phone or at an office, and you don't need a lawyer to take part in EEOC mediation. If your deadline is close, you were fired, or you are thinking about a lawsuit, talk to an employment lawyer or a legal aid office. On request, EEOC offices can give you a list of local employment lawyers, without recommending a specific one.
Common questions
Is an EEOC complaint the same as a charge of discrimination?
Yes, for workers at private employers and state and local governments. "EEOC complaint" is the everyday name; "charge of discrimination" is the legal one. You start in the EEOC Public Portal by clicking "I want to file a complaint", and the process ends with a charge you sign. Federal employees and job applicants use a separate process, the federal sector EEO complaint process, which starts with the agency's EEO Counselor, generally within 45 days.
Can I file an EEOC complaint online?
Yes. Submit an inquiry in the EEOC Public Portal and schedule your intake interview; after the interview, the charge can be completed and signed in the Portal. The EEOC doesn't take charges over the phone, but a representative at 1-800-669-4000 can explain how to file. If your deadline is close, call and ask for an immediate interview.
How long do I have to file an EEOC complaint (charge)?
Generally 180 calendar days from the day the discrimination took place, or 300 days if a state or local agency enforces a law against the same kind of discrimination. For age discrimination, only a state law and a state agency extend it to 300 days. Equal Pay Act claims can go straight to court within 2 years, or 3 if the violation was willful.
Can my employer fire me for filing an EEOC charge?
No. All the laws the EEOC enforces make it illegal to fire, demote, harass or otherwise retaliate against you for filing a charge or taking part in an EEOC investigation or lawsuit. If it happens, tell your investigator promptly so a retaliation claim can be added to your charge.
Will my employer find out that I filed?
Yes. A charge must carry your name and signature, and by law the EEOC notifies the employer within 10 days of filing. The EEOC does not make charge information public. To keep your name from the employer, another person or an organization can file on your behalf, although your identity may still become clear during the investigation.
Do I need a Notice of Right to Sue before I can sue?
For Title VII and ADA claims, yes, and you then have 90 days to file. For age discrimination you can sue 60 days after filing your charge, without the notice. Under the Equal Pay Act you can go straight to court.
How long does an EEOC investigation take?
About 10 months on average, depending on how much information has to be gathered. Charges that go to mediation are often settled faster, usually in less than 3 months.
What can I get if discrimination is found?
The goal is to put you where you would have been without the discrimination, for example the job or promotion, back pay and benefits. For intentional discrimination, compensatory and punitive damages are capped by employer size, from $50,000 for 15 to 100 employees up to $300,000 for more than 500. In intentional age or Equal Pay Act cases, those damages are not available, but liquidated damages equal to the back pay may be.
Is harassment at work a form of discrimination?
Yes, when it is based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information, and putting up with it becomes a condition of keeping the job, or it is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile or abusive. See Sexual harassment and hostile work environment.
Is pregnancy discrimination illegal?
Yes. Under Title VII, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, discrimination because of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions is sex discrimination. Under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, employers with 15 or more employees must also make reasonable accommodations for known limitations related to pregnancy, unless that would impose an undue hardship.
Official sources
- EEOC: How to file a charge of employment discrimination eeoc.gov
- EEOC: Time limits for filing a charge eeoc.gov
- EEOC: Filing a charge of discrimination eeoc.gov
- EEOC: The EEOC Public Portal eeoc.gov
- EEOC: What you can expect after you file a charge eeoc.gov
- EEOC: Filing a lawsuit eeoc.gov
- EEOC: Confidentiality eeoc.gov
- EEOC: Questions and answers about mediation eeoc.gov
- EEOC: Retaliation eeoc.gov
- EEOC: Overview eeoc.gov
- EEOC: Employees and job applicants eeoc.gov
- EEOC: Equal employment opportunity laws eeoc.gov
- EEOC: Coverage eeoc.gov
- EEOC: Coverage of business and private employers eeoc.gov
- EEOC: Prohibited employment policies and practices eeoc.gov
- EEOC: Equal pay and compensation discrimination eeoc.gov
- EEOC: What you should know about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act eeoc.gov
- EEOC: Genetic information discrimination eeoc.gov
- EEOC: Remedies for employment discrimination eeoc.gov
- 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5, Title VII enforcement: filing deadlines and the 90-day suit period (U.S. Code, 2024 ed.) govinfo.gov
- 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, Title VII definitions: employer (U.S. Code, 2024 ed.) govinfo.gov
- 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3, Title VII: retaliation (U.S. Code, 2024 ed.) govinfo.gov
- 42 U.S.C. § 12111, ADA definitions: employer (U.S. Code, 2024 ed.) govinfo.gov
- 29 U.S.C. § 630, ADEA definitions: employer (U.S. Code, 2024 ed.) govinfo.gov
- 29 U.S.C. § 626, ADEA: charge deadlines and the 90-day suit period (U.S. Code, 2024 ed.) govinfo.gov
- 42 U.S.C. § 2000gg, Pregnant Workers Fairness Act definitions (U.S. Code, 2024 ed.) govinfo.gov
- EEOC: Overview of the federal sector EEO complaint process eeoc.gov
- EEOC: Harassment eeoc.gov
- EEOC: Pregnancy discrimination and pregnancy-related disability discrimination eeoc.gov
- 42 U.S.C. § 2000gg-1, Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: unlawful practices (U.S. Code, 2024 ed.) govinfo.gov
Related
This page explains the law in general terms. It is not legal advice about your situation. Justice is not a law firm and is not affiliated with any court or government agency.