It depends on what we are doing for you. For many claims of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, we must start by filing a “Charge” for you with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) before you can to file a lawsuit. The EEOC’s job is to investigate your claim and then it will typically issue a “Right to Sue” letter. However, your claim may be settled at any time during this process.
We usually try to file your EEOC claim within two weeks of becoming your attorneys, unless we decide together to wait for strategic reasons. We also send a letter of representation to the Employer, and a demand letter once we have enough information, which we get through talking with you about your goals and the facts of your case. We then give you our advice, based on our experience as employment attorneys.
We give the Employer a deadline to respond to our letters. Through that deadline, and the EEOC’s communication with the employer about a mediation, we usually know if we will be informally negotiating or mediating the case within about 60 days of filing the EEOC Charge.
If mediation is not an option, we can expect the Employer’s formal written response to the EEOC within two to three months of filing with the EEOC.
If we cannot get the case resolved through the EEOC process, you will receive a right to sue letter, and at that time we will help you make a decision on whether to file a lawsuit and whether that is a legal service we will provide.