 | Low: No Cost To File with EEOC |
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 | Medium: A Private Lawyer May Charge 25-50% of the Settlement |
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| Under state and federal law, employment discrimination is unfair treatment in the workplace based on a legally protected characteristic, such as age, disability, sex, pregnancy, national origin, race/color or religious beliefs. In a successful employment discrimination lawsuit, the court can order the employer to stop all discriminatory practices and to reinstate you (if you lost your job because of discrimination), give you a promotion or make other workplace changes. You could be awarded compensatory damages or (rarely) punitive damages (if you can show malice), attorneys' fees, court costs and other expenses. | | |
| Typical costs: | - There is no charge for filing a charge of employment discrimination with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). If no violation is found, the charge will be dismissed. If the EEOC finds that a violation occurred, it will try to reach a voluntary settlement with your employer, usually through mediation. If mediation fails, either the EEOC or the Department of Justice may file suit in federal court. However, these agencies are unable to file suit in every case. If they do not sue, they will notify you, giving you 90 days to file a lawsuit yourself.
- If you have an extremely strong case, a private attorney may accept your employment discrimination lawsuit on a contingency basis, with the lawyer receiving nothing if you lose the case but earning 20-50 percent of any settlement or judgment won in the case. Usually an attorney will receive a lower percentage for a case that is settled before going to trial, and a larger percentage if it goes before a jury or if it is appealed. Attorneys who have a history of obtaining larger settlements/judgments may charge a higher percentage In addition to your legal fees, any court fees, expert witness costs or other expenses will also be deducted from your settlement/judgment. These costs generally run at least $10,000, and can be considerably more.
- More commonly than pure contingency, an attorney may handle your employment discrimination lawsuit on a partial contingency basis, requiring you to pay specific fees and expenses whether you win or lose the case. These costs generally run at least $10,000, and can be considerably more.
- Because employment discrimination cases can be hard to prove, some attorneys handle them on an hourly basis, charging $100 -$600 or more an hour, plus court costs and other expenses. Legal fees charged at an hourly basis quickly mount up; the total cost will depend on the complexity of the case and the amount of legal work needed.
- If you need legal assistance and can't afford an attorney, the American Bar Association lists legal resources for each state.
What should be included: | - If you feel you're being discriminated against on the job or fired because of discrimination, it's important to document everything that happens. FindLaw.com lists tips for employees who are dealing with discrimination or harassment.
- Anyone who believes their employment rights have been violated may file a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. You can also file a charge on behalf of another person in order to protect their identity. The EEOC gives a detailed overview of federal job discrimination laws and procedures, as well as general directions for filing a charge of employment discrimination.
- Many employment discrimination suits are settled without going to court. The American Bar Association provides a general discussion of workplace laws.
Additional costs: | - Some attorneys will provide a free initial consultation, but others will charge their usual hourly rate for going over the facts of your case and reviewing your legal options.
Shopping for an employment discrimination lawsuit: | - It might be difficult to find an attorney to handle your case; most discrimination lawyers are only able to represent a small percentage of the people who contact them. Lawyers.com explains how to find and work with a discrimination attorney.
- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) does not recommend specific attorneys, but its field offices may be able to give you a list of labor/employment attorneys in your area. You can also search for an attorney online at the National Employment Lawyers Association, Lawyers.com and FindLaw.com.
- Your attorney should provide you with a written fee agreement. Be sure you understand how you will be charged, and any additional costs you will have to pay.
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Article updated November 2008 |
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What People Are Paying - Recent Comments |
| Attorney cost |
| Amount: $17,000.00 total |
| Posted by: Hurt in Cleveland, MS. | Posted: April 21st, 2010 07:04PM |
I received a settlement from a sex discrimination case. My attorney charged me $5000. When the case was settled, he took almost half of the settlement,plus the money I had already given him. |
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| Posted by: andre mcknight in denver, CO. | Posted: June 22nd, 2011 11:06AM |
| Law Firm: no takers yet |
went thru eeoc. The eeoc is a bogus outfit. Just recently the supreme court threw out one of their cases due to fictious aurguments. They only go for class actions lawsuit againt unfavorable companies- easy stuff. They could care less if an individual was discriminated against! |
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| Wrongful termination/retaliation/bullying/ID theft/fraud & Forgery by Employer/age and religious discrimination |
| Amount: $0.00 total |
| Posted by: bluescrubs in weirton, WV. | Posted: June 24th, 2011 02:06PM |
| Law Firm: looking |
EEOC was interested until they found out there fewer than 15 employees. I guess if you have less than 15 people its okay to do what you want, the laws dont apply to them. the employer stole my ID and opened accounts in my name, forged my signature. She would call me a backstabbing bitch, when I complained about it. She said repeatedly told me I was not Christian enough because I would not give her 60-80 hrs of work for free. I was hourly and she always tried to short me of my wages. |
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| EEOC is a complete Failure! Why do they even exist?! |
| Amount: $100,000,000.00 total |
| Posted by: a user in Arlington, TX. | Posted: May 25th, 2012 10:05PM |
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| Posted by: a user in Toledo, OH. | Posted: October 10th, 2012 01:10PM |
| Law Firm: looking |
I so agree about the EEOC!! Total waste of time, they never investigated my case... I felt they totally sided with the employer and never intended on investigating... Why do they exist??? I was given 10 days to respond to position statement and the employer had over 30 days....rnSomething needs to be done... |
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| Posted by: a user in WENTZVILLE, MO. | Posted: October 16th, 2012 09:10AM |
| Law Firm: LOOKING |
I Thoth this happen just to me , but now I see there is no purpose of this institution.I have been discriminated at work and the Investigator have limited time on the phone and they really don't care. He told me even if he will file a complain, nothing is going to happen , and he doesn't want to spend tax payers money. Then why we pay taxes?.This is an institution who spend our money by doing nothing like many other government institutions. |
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| I settled with my employers and skipped the EEOC |
| Amount: $3,000.00 total |
| Posted by: a user in Madison, WI. | Posted: November 13th, 2012 11:11AM |
The EEOC will take on very few cases and it will cost the employee a lot of money to file an actual lawsuit.
My employer fired me because of a disability and did not try and reasonably accommodate first. I contacted a reputable employment attorney who negotiated a big settlement package in lieu of filing with the EEOC. I needed to drop all claims against them.
Note: If the employer is truly in the wrong, a good employment attorney will bring this to their attention, scare them, and discuss the benefits of settling. |
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| You-Name-It Discrimination & Retaliation |
| Amount: $8,000.00 total |
| Posted by: Maisha in Newark, NJ. | Posted: November 18th, 2012 06:11AM |
| Law Firm: yes |
EEOC probably did not even look at my case, just issued "right to sue" and went on about (no) business. Useless waste of tax funds. Still pursuiing my case against NJ major university, where management spends millions to fight against fair labor practices... this is america?! |
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| osha complaint against big company with a discrimination charge and retaliation |
| Amount: $0.00 total |
| Posted by: bosshogg@yahoo.com in Nowhere, IN. | Posted: January 21st, 2013 11:01AM |
Case was filed with Osha for health related issue and investigated nothin happened no fines no citation's discrimination complaint filed with eeoc, after eeoc was contacted after the first complaint my problem's gotten worser, supervisor site supervisor, H.R. nore corporate would do anything to resolve my problem's, my car got vandalized by a co worker nothin was done to investigate my complaint after speaking with manager's and upper management i called the police whom also valiated my civil rights by not taking a report from me, I feel because my race, sorry i can not disclose any imformation about this company do to a current ongoing battle and i will not lose my case by all mean's, sumtimez's you just have to get up and out research ur attorney see how many case's he or she has won, it's all about the evidence you have in your's case's as well i've done a whole lot of foot work in my cases, and i check on the progression of that case. |
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| Posted by: govwaste in baltimore, MD. | Posted: January 31st, 2013 06:01AM |
EEOC total waste of time. I sent a detailed 70 page report with names dates and evidence atracheed. They forwarded my case to Md. Civil rights committee which in turn held the case never contacted me for month. I finally had a hearing which I arrived with other employees with me. I was then advised that their was a misunderstanding on my case and that the other 15 employees would have to individually go through the process from the beginning point. This was after a year of waiting for direction. Smh. EEOC is government waste. |
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| Posted by: me, myself and I in no where, AL. | Posted: March 5th, 2013 04:03PM |
THANKS EEOC FOR ALL THAT YOU DID FOR ME LOOKS LIKE EVERYBODY DIDNT GET THE SAME TREATMENT AS ME. THANKS GUYS I FEEL BETTER ABOUT MY CASE ALREADY |
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