Appealing a EEOC determination

[mcdo]

What is the name of your state? North Carolina

Can a non-federal employee appeal/challenge an EEOC decision?

 

[adjusterjack]

What decision?

Details would be helpful.

 

[Taxing Matters]

What decision?

Details would be helpful.

Agreed. What kind of decision was it (e.g. issuing an agency regulation, a determination resolving a dispute between other parties etc)? If was a determination of a dispute between two parties then who were the parties to it (no names, please, just general description like employer, employee, etc) and what impact does that decision have on the person who wants to challenge it?

 

[Just Blue]

px hx

 

[cbg]

px hx

Good lord. The complaints about discrimination date back to 2004.

 

[Taxing Matters]

As a follow-up, let me put into perspective for you what the role of the EEOC is for those not working for the federal government. It issues regulations under the authority of statutes passed by Congress that give it that power. If you are a person directly affected by the regulation, you can challenge that in federal court, but for reasons I won't get into in most cases you'd not be litigating against the EEOC itself.

The EEOC receives compliants from workers who believe their employer discriminated against them. In those cases, the key decision made by the EEOC is whether it is willing to take the case to court for the aggrieved employee or instead simply issue a right to sue letter. The vast majority of those cases result in a right to sue letter; the EEOC only has the resources to take on a limited number of cases itself. This is not a determination you can appeal. If you get a right to sue letter, your recourse is to promptly see a lawyer who litigates equal employment related claims and sue the employer yourself. The EEOC is out of it at that point. Furthermore, if you don't want the EEOC to litigate it for you, it is very easy to do that: ask the agency for a right to sue letter immediately in your complaint to the agency.

Those are its two main functions with regard private employers and their employees. As you can see, there is a remedy for decisions that you don't like (if you have a good legal basis for it) but generally that is not done as a direct appeal of the EEOC's decision. It is done through litigation with the employer or other party. There are some limited instances in which you might directly appeal a decision of the EEOC, but for private company employees that would be quite rare.

And bear in mind that there are a statutes of limitation (SOL) that limit the time you have to act on a claim of discrimination. If this is something that goes back to 2004 you are almost certainly beyond the SOL at this point. If that's the case, there is nothing for you to do here but move on with your life.

 

[mcdo]

As a follow-up, let me put into perspective for you what the role of the EEOC is for those not working for the federal government. It issues regulations under the authority of statutes passed by Congress that give it that power. If you are a person directly affected by the regulation, you can challenge that in federal court, but for reasons I won't get into in most cases you'd not be litigating against the EEOC itself.

The EEOC receives compliants from workers who believe their employer discriminated against them. In those cases, the key decision made by the EEOC is whether it is willing to take the case to court for the aggrieved employee or instead simply issue a right to sue letter. The vast majority of those cases result in a right to sue letter; the EEOC only has the resources to take on a limited number of cases itself. This is not a determination you can appeal. If you get a right to sue letter, your recourse is to promptly see a lawyer who litigates equal employment related claims and sue the employer yourself. The EEOC is out of it at that point. Furthermore, if you don't want the EEOC to litigate it for you, it is very easy to do that: ask the agency for a right to sue letter immediately in your complaint to the agency.

Those are its two main functions with regard private employers and their employees. As you can see, there is a remedy for decisions that you don't like (if you have a good legal basis for it) but generally that is not done as a direct appeal of the EEOC's decision. It is done through litigation with the employer or other party. There are some limited instances in which you might directly appeal a decision of the EEOC, but for private company employees that would be quite rare.

And bear in mind that there are a statutes of limitation (SOL) that limit the time you have to act on a claim of discrimination. If this is something that goes back to 2004 you are almost certainly beyond the SOL at this point. If that's the case, there is nothing for you to do here but move on with your life.

 

[mcdo]

Thank you. This is very informative.