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  • Discrimination
  • Age Discrimination
  • Race and Sex Discrimination
  • Religious and Disability Discrimination
  • Sexual Orientation Discrimination
  • Retaliation
  • Housing Discrimination
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  • Federal Overtime Law
  • Illinois Overtime Law
  • Indiana Overtime Law
  • Iowa Overtime Law
  • Michigan Overtime Law
  • Pennsylvania Overtime Law
  • Wisconsin Overtime Law
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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, more commonly known by its initials, EEOC, was created as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to enforce Title VII. Today, the EEOC is also responsible for enforcing other anti-discrimination laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Equal Pay Act (EPA), though the latter provides an independent cause of action in Federal Court.

Before filing a Federal law suit for discrimination or harassment, one must first file a charge of discrimination with the EEOC. The EEOC then investigates the charge by asking both the employee, known as the Complainant, and the employer being charged, known as the Respondent, for documents and information relevant to the charge. At the end of its investigation, the EEOC may do one of three things: 1) Close its file without completing the investigation; 2) Conclude that it was unable to establish a violation of the law; or 3) Conclude that there is substantial evidence of a violation. This last is sometimes called a “Cause Determination.”

If the EEOC closes its file without completing the investigation, or is unable to conclude that discrimination or sexual harassment took place, it will issue a Notice of Right to Sue. The Complainant then has 90 days to file her case in Federal Court. Once that 90 days has passed the employee loses her opportunity to file in Federal Court. This is a very dangerous deadline and must be watched carefully.

If the EEOC makes a Cause Determination, it will try to “conciliate” the case by achieving a settlement between the parties and in addition, require the employer to take certain affirmative steps to prevent discrimination or sexual harassment from happening again in the future. If those efforts should fail, the EEOC has the right to file its own case against the employer and the employee can join that case with her own attorney. If the EEOC does not file its own case, it will issue a Notice of Right to Sue, and again the employee has only 90 days to file in Federal Court.

The reality is that the EEOC does not often make Cause Determinations and rarely files its own case. But many of these cases are still filed in Federal Court, and it is possible to win a case in Federal Court or settle it, even though EEOC did not make a finding in your favor.

The Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR)

You may also file your claims of discrimination under the Illinois Human Rights Act. To do so, you have to file with the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR). The IDHR serves the same function for the State of Illinois as the EEOC does for the Federal Government. There are however, some important differences. 1) If the IDHR investigation does not provide substantial evidence of a violation and your charge was filed before January 1, 2008, you cannot go into court. Rather, you can ask for a review from the Chief Legal Counsel’s Office at the IDHR. You can also ask that the IDHR forward your case to the EEOC for review, and then take your case to Federal Court. If the IDHR does find in your favor, it will file a complaint for you with the Illinois Human Rights Commission. The Human Rights Commission is very much like a court with a judge who hears your case.

Because of a hard fought for change in the law, charges filed with the IDHR after January 1, 2008 will have opportunities to be brought in court, even if the IDHR finds against you. Please see our legislative work page for more information on the right to sue bill. Nonetheless, this does not change the fact that you have only 180 days to file your complaint with the IDHR from the time of the discriminatory acts. This means that if a the act took place before approximately July 8, 2007, filing the charge after January 1, 2008 will be too late.

Beware that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is not the Federal court. Nor are the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Illinois Department of Human Rights the same entities. They are both investigative authorities with the courts and the Illinois Human Rights Commission being judicial bodies.

Attorneys at Maduff & Maduff are very familiar with the procedures and processes of both the EEOC and the IDHR, as well as the Illinois Human Rights Commission. Generally, we prefer to take our client into the EEOC or IDHR to make the initial charge. Because an employee is required to file with the EEOC before filing with the Federal Court, the case can be dismissed from the Federal Court if the Court determines that the Charge of Discrimination filed with the EEOC is not specific enough. It is also important to note that in Illinois, you must file your charge with the EEOC within 300 days of the incident you believe was discrimination. But you have only 180 days to file with the IDHR. If you have a claim of discrimination, you need to consult with an employment attorney. Call us right away.