The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a Resolution mourning the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery last week. In the resolution, the EEOC committed the agency to redouble its efforts to address institutionalized racism, advance justice, and foster equal opportunity in the workplace.
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. It is also illegal to discriminate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
Most employers with at least 15 employees are covered by EEOC laws (20 employees in age discrimination cases). Most labor unions and employment agencies are also covered. The laws apply to all types of work situations, including hiring, firing, promotions, harassment, training, wages, and benefits.
The anti-discrimination laws provide a limited amount of time to file a charge of discrimination. In general, a person needs to file a charge within 180 calendar days from the day the discrimination took place. The 180-calendar day filing deadline is extended to 300 calendar days if a state or local agency enforces a law that prohibits employment discrimination on the same basis. The rules are slightly different for age discrimination charges. For age discrimination, the filing deadline is only extended to 300 days if there is a state law prohibiting age discrimination in employment and a state agency or authority enforcing that law. The deadline is not extended if only a local law prohibits age discrimination.
If you have questions related to employment discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, please feel free to contact Goodin Abernathy.