Eeoc's Charge Process example essay topic

Equal Employment Opportunity Complaint In order for John to file a discrimination complaint against his employer, he is required to file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Complaint counselor or representative of the company. Once the charge has been filed, an investigation is taken place, or the charge maybe selected to an EEOC program and maybe dismissed. In this case, John is given a certain number of days to file a lawsuit on his behalf. This process would have to go through several lengthy stages such as the EEOC administrative process.

If gone to trial it must go through filing of a summons, response and answer, discovery process, enlisting of experts, pre-trial, actual trial and a possible appeal. In the EEOC's Charge Process, John must go to his EEOC's representative within this company and file a complaint. This is considered the administrative process. Pertinent information must be given about the plaintiff and defendant such as name, address and phone number, the date and a brief description of the charge. Once the charge has been filed the employer is notified that charges have been filed. The charge would be thoroughly investigated.

A written description and date of alleged violation is requested again; interviews with people, documents are reviewed; and sometimes the facility is visited which the alleged discrimination occurred. As an alternative the charge may be assigned to the EEOC Mediation Program instead of an investigation, which both parties must consent to. If the mediation is unsuccessful, the charge returns back to investigation. There is a possibility that the charge be dismissed. If this is the case, John will be able to file a lawsuit on his behalf within 90 days. After given the notice of a right to sue from EEOC, John can then file a lawsuit within two years.

This is where the statue of limitation comes into place. The suit must be filed within the discovery of the charge. John must then file a summons or a complaint in the appropriate court. Attached to the summons is a detailed complaint of the allegations and relief required in case. The defendant, John's employer, will then receive the summons notifying them of the lawsuit. After the defendant receives the summons, they must respond by filing an answer or preliminary motion within the federal court or preliminary objection within the state court.

The answer would state the allegations, which the defendant admits and denies. If the defendant fails to respond it is deemed admitted. The defendant at this time must plead any affirmative defenses and show that they are not liable because the affirmative defense rules out liability. The next step is the Discovery Process, which is the formal fact-finding stage of litigation.

There are several different types of discovery processes: interrogatories, depositions, request to produce documents, physical and mental examinations and request for admissions. Both sides would then request additional information from the other party or third parties to develop their case. In most cases if privileged information is gathered, the opposing party does not have to produce this information. In addition to information gathered, the parties may be able to determine their opponent's theories and strengths of their courtroom presentation. Based on their discovery plan and requests. Once the discovery process is completed, the Enlisting of Experts process is required.

The plaintiff early in the pre-trial process to determine whether he has a viable claim must obtain this expert. The defendant will also obtain an expert to support the defendant's theory of the case and refute the plaintiff's expert. After sufficient discovery has been made and experts are in place, either party may move for summary judgment. If the material at hand shows that there is no genuine issue as to a material fact, the court may rule and motion that there is no need for a formal trial.

When either party files a motion for summary judgment, they will submit legal briefs to support their positions and the court may hold a hearing. The court may or may not deny motion. If denied, the court may grant partial summary judgment or grant summary judgment. A partial summary judgment would limit the scope of trial. The next stage is the Pre-Trial Conference or Settlement Conference Process. The court would schedule a meeting between the parties to determine the possibilities of settlement.

This is a preferred resolution because a settlement may eliminate the uncertainties inherent in a trial. If the settlement is not a realistic possibility the court would set a schedule and / or grounds for a forthcoming trial. Once the trial has been scheduled there are two processes that need to be established. And that is Jury Selection and Burden of Proof. There are about 12 jurors that are selected for a trial, including two alternates in case a juror is excused in the middle of a trial. These jurors would have to go through a process of elimination.

The burden of proof comes into place when the plaintiff has the burden to prove its case with evidence. The evidence must show in the plaintiff's favor or else the defendant would succeed. The trial is then set in place. At this point the jury will hear both sides of the story and will be presented with evidence and testimonies throughout the trial. Both plaintiff's and defendant's counsel will be able to cross examine each other's side. After both sides have been giving the opportunity to rest their case, then they must present closing arguments.

The closing remarks can only introduce what has been introduced throughout the trial. The jury is given instructions of their duties and sent to the back to reflect on the trial. After the jury reflects on the matters at hand, they will hand down a verdict. In the state court, the jury verdict doesn't have to be unanimous in a civil action, but ten out of twelve must coincide. In the federal court, the verdict is unanimous unless both parties agree otherwise.

After the verdict is in, the losing party has three options and they are Post-Trial Motion, Reduction of Damages and an Appeal. In John's case, if he loses, he must make an appeal. During the appeal, there must be some type of error to justify the appeal. For example, Martha Stewart is able to make an appeal because wrongful information was given regarding one of the jurors. The appeal is then heard in the Superior Court for state actions or in the United States Court of Appeals for federal actions by a panel of judges. However, if John does win the case whether through EEOC's administrative judge or through court, he is able to gain compensatory damages, back pay, nondiscriminatory placement and other employees would benefit by becoming knowledgeable of their rights under the laws of EEOC and corrective or preventive actions would be taken to discourage discrimination.

This is why it is so important that an employer must educate management, as well as, employees so that problems, such as, John's won't escalade to the point of a complaint being filed within the EEOC administration. Employer's may lose, as well as, employees and may become devastating where as both parties are negatively affected.

Bibliography

Bennett, Alexander, Hartman (2003), Employment Law for Business, Fourth Edition I.
The Regulation of the Employment Relationship, The McGraw-Hill Companies. Bennett, Alexander, Hartman (2003), Employment Law for Business, Fourth Edition II.
Regulation of Discrimination in Employment 3. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, The McGraw-Hill Companies.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved from web on April 1, 2004 U.
S. Courts Federal Judiciary. Retrieved from web on April 1, 2004 Discrimination Complaint Procedures.
Retrieved from web April 1, 2004.