Be careful filling out
an administrative charge
In addition to making sure that you file an
administrative charge with the EEOC (and that you file it on time), you must also be very
careful about making sure that you disclose the exact nature of your claim of
discrimination. For example, if the EEOC and the employer read your charge and you have
only mentioned a complaint of age discrimination, you cannot later file suit in federal
district court for race discrimination.
Or, if your charge only discusses the fact that
you were a victim of age discrimination when you were terminated, you may not be
permitted to later sue for age discrimination because of a promotion you did not
receive (before you were terminated) -- since the denial of the promotion was not
mentioned in your charge.
Remember, the main purpose of the charge is to
give the EEOC and your employer notice of what you are complaining about. For the most
part, courts will not permit you to complain about one type of discrimination in the EEOC
charge and then sue for another type of discrimination in your lawsuit.
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Case Example
Hazel Davis, who was a cafeteria worker at
Cumberland University in Tennessee, filed an EEOC charge asserting race discrimination.
However, when she later filed her lawsuit in district court, she sued for age
discrimination. The Sixth Circuit agreed with the district court that her lawsuit should
be dismissed because the age discrimination claim was not within the scope of her EEOC
charge. Davis v. Sodexho, Cumberland College Cafeteria, 157 F.3d 460 (6th Cir.
1998). |
Courts use the phrase "scope of the
charge" when discussing this issue. In other words, did the employee mention in her
EEOC charge all of the different types of discrimination that she later sued for in
federal district court.
In determining whether the employee's claims at
trial are within the scope of the EEOC charge, the courts look to whether the claims at
trial are "reasonably related" to the conduct complained of in the EEOC charge.
A claim at trial is reasonably related to the charge if the information in the charge
should have caused the EEOC to discover the existence of this claim during its
investigation.
Let's cover a few examples to make this clear. Let's assume you believe you were terminated
because of your gender and before you were terminated, you were
harassed by your supervisor. You fill out the EEOC charge form and make it clear
that you believe you were terminated based on your gender. You also give examples in the
narrative section of the charge form about how your supervisor harassed you --
although you never come out and say you are claiming gender harassment.
When you file suit in federal court, you sue for
gender discrimination as a result of your termination and you sue for
gender harassment. Your
employer asks the court to dismiss the gender harassment claim because it was not
mentioned in the EEOC charge. Most courts would find that the gender harassment claim was
within the scope of your EEOC charge because the EEOC had enough information that a
reasonable investigation should have brought this claim to light during the administrative
process.
On the other hand, let's assume the same facts,
except that your EEOC charge makes no mention of how your supervisor harassed
you based on your gender. In that situation, the district court will likely dismiss your
gender harassment
claim.
Likewise, if you filled out an EEOC charge form
and checked the box that you were suing for race discrimination, you might be able to sue
for age discrimination in federal court as long as you provided factual information in
your EEOC charge form that would support an age discrimination claim.
