Filing an Employment Discrimination Complaint in California
In California, it is illegal for employers to discriminate against employees or applicants that are a part of a protected class. Here’s how to file an employment discrimination complaint in California.
Workplace discrimination complaints can be filed with The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) and/or The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In California, a pre-complaint inquiry needs to be accepted prior to an official complaint being prepared and filed.
How can a person determine if they were discriminated against in their workplace?
In most cases, employers are aware that discriminating against employees can result in a lawsuit. Thus, workplace discrimination usually occurs in an elusive manner and does not involve overt forms of discrimination that could be easily documented. Discrimination typically involves a distinct group of employees being treated differently than other workers, or a particular employee being treated differently once the employer recognizes them to be a part of a protected group. Signs of workplace discrimination may include but are not limited to:
- Having to abide by different rules than other employees on the basis of having a different background
- Being excluded from work meetings and/or events
- Experiencing a random change or increase in work responsibilities
- Experiencing a sudden change in job performance reviews
- Being disregarded as an applicant due to having an ethnic-sounding name
- Having reduced pay or work hours
- Having to endure jokes targetted towards their race or sex due to management’s failure to prevent such activity
- Being made fun of for their sexual orientation
- Being made fun of for their accent
Employers that are a part of the same protected class as the employee or employees being discriminated against can still be guilty of workplace discrimination. For example, an employer of a particular background can still discriminate against an applicant or employee of the same background.
Related: Types of Workplace Discrimination in California
Who do I file a complaint with if I experienced workplace discrimination?
Employment discrimination in California can violate both California state law and federal law. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is in charge of handling a majority of employment discrimination cases in the state, and The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing a majority of federal employment discrimination laws.
Most victims of workplace discrimination prefer to file a complaint with The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). This is because California law provides a wider range of protections for anti-discrimination cases compared to federal anti-discrimination laws. That being said, many cases involve complaints filed between both the DFEH and the EEOC.
How can someone file an employment discrimination claim in California?
In California, employment discrimination complaints can be filed directly with the DFEH. Filing a complaint typically requires submitting a pre-complaint inquiry before three years have passed from the final incident of discrimination. Exceptions for this time frame do occur in cases where one was unaware that they were experiencing workplace discrimination until many (over three) years later.
Complaints can be filed using several methods, including over the telephone, online, or by printing out and mailing the DFEH form. Complaints need to be accepted for investigation. To determine whether the complaint will be accepted, the pre-complaint inquiry will commence an interview with the DFEH. An investigator will contact whoever filed the complaint within 60 days to discuss details pertaining to the case. The matter at hand will be dismissed if the DFEH representative determines that the state will not handle the complaint. If this happens, the individual maintains the right to immediately sue their employer in court. If the pre-complaint inquiry is accepted, an official complaint will be prepared. The individual must then sign the complaint and it will subsequently be mailed to the employer. If desired, the EEOC can be included in the case and the filing of the complaint at this point.
The DFEH will review any response made by the employer. Most cases involve the employee(s) and employer negotiating a resolution to the complaint using dispute resolution services offered by the DFEH. The DFEH will initiate an investigation if the complaint is not capable of being resolved through negotiations. Employment discrimination investigations are used to decide whether California anti-discriminatory laws were violated in a case. If there is no violation found, the case will be closed.
It is important to note that employees still maintain the right to take the case to court even if the case is closed. If the investigation finds a violation, the case will go directly to the DFEH Legal Division. The DFEH Legal Division typically mandates involved parties to go through mediation. This features a neutral mediator helping parties find an agreeable solution without the involvement of a court. If mediation does not allow the parties to settle their dispute, the DFEH can file a lawsuit on behalf of the employee against the employer. If the DFEH decides against filing a lawsuit, the investigation will be closed. As before, if this happens, the employee still maintains the immediate right to file a lawsuit against the employer in court.
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