Filing A Discrimination Suit Against Your Michigan Employer: How It Works

Prospective or current employees in Michigan who are subjected to discrimination by managers or employers may have the option to pursue a discrimination claim to seek financial and legal relief. Here’s what you need to know about the process, as well as what you could recover through a successful discrimination claim.

Types of Employment Discrimination

Federal and state labor laws prohibit employers from discriminating against prospective or current employees for protected characteristics such as:

Race
Color
National origin
Religious beliefs
Sex/gender
Sexual orientation
Age (over 40)
Pregnancy
Military/veteran status
Disability

Employers can engage in different kinds of discriminatory actions when conducted on the basis of an employee’s protected characteristic, including:

Refusal to hire
Refusal to promote
Denial of raises/bonuses
Denial of training or career advancement opportunities
Assignment to less desirable positions/tasks
Termination of employment (including forcing resignation/retirement)

Steps to Take Before Filing an Employment Discrimination Claim

Has an employer discriminated against you? If so, taking the following steps can put you in a better position to pursue an employment discrimination claim:

Gather evidence : First, collect any evidence that may become relevant to your discrimination claim, such as contemporaneous notes of discriminatory incidents, emails, text messages, or rejection/termination letters.
Report suspected discrimination to human resources : When a supervisor or manager has engaged in potentially discriminatory actions, you may consider reporting them to your employer’s human resources department to give your employer a chance to remedy the discrimination.
Contact an attorney : Finally, contact an attorney who can help you understand your legal rights and options for pursuing financial recovery or other legal relief from employment discrimination.

Pursuing Claims with the EEOC or MDCR

Employees subjected to workplace discrimination in Michigan can file claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR). However, you must file your complaint with the EEOC or the MDCR within 300 or 180 days (respectively) from the discriminatory act or the latest act in a continuing course of discrimination. Once you’ve filed a complaint, the EEOC or MDCR will investigate and issue remedial action if appropriate. This could involve ordering your employer to mediation to resolve your civil claims or imposing fines for state or federal law violations.

Filing a Lawsuit

If it approves your claim, the EEOC or MDCR will issue you a right-to-sue letter, which authorizes you to file an employment discrimination lawsuit against your employer. You may need to file a lawsuit when efforts to negotiate or mediate a settlement of your claim fail. An employment discrimination lawsuit may entitle you to financial or legal relief, such as:

Back pay
Front pay
Compensation for defamation or emotional distress
Reinstatement to a position your employer wrongfully terminated you from
Other appropriate injunctive relief

Contact an Employment Discrimination Attorney Today

If you’ve suffered discrimination by your employer, get the legal help you need to pursue accountability and justice. Contact Just Right Law today for a free, confidential consultation with an employment discrimination lawyer to discuss your options for seeking compensation and legal relief due to an employer’s discriminatory actions.