What to do?

On behalf of elizabethtatelaw Attorney at Law posted in Workplace Discrimination on Wednesday , June 6, 2018

The world of employment is ever changing

401ks instead of pensions

Independent contractors instead of employees

Work from home instead of working from a company office

Flextime

Medical spending accounts

Company offices not even located in your state.

Wait a minute. How can you ever expect to hold a company that employs 15 or more people accountable when the company violated employment laws and doesn’t even have an office in your state? Where do you even begin the process when the only place work is performed for your company is in your home? You can’t send an EEOC charge to your home address and deliver to your supervisor. That wouldn’t make any sense, right ? Where on earth do you file an EEOC charge when there’s no office in the state?

The EEOC applies the law where the employees work is performed. When you file an EEOC charge ordinarily you list the address of your employer’s address as the office located in your state, even if you work from home.

When your employer or potential employer has no office in your state, file an EEOC charge at the EEOC office where the employer’s headquarters is located. If you’ve already filed an EEOC charge at your local EEOC office, not to worry. Your local EEOC office will transfer your charge to the EEOC office located at the employer’s headquarters. This could take awhile so it’s better to be in the know. If you file your EEOC charge directly with the EEOC office located at the employer’s headquarters, the process will go faster.

Admittedly, going after an out of state company takes more effort. Once you get your right to sue, you’ll have to find a lawyer in the state where you filed your EEOC charge. Consult a local bar association for a lawyer. Or sometimes an EEOC office will have a list of employment lawyers. Whatever you do, don’t consult a lawyer in your state unless the lawyer has a license in the employer’s headquarters state. Discrimination laws have different time limits for filing suit. Some states place time limits on EEOC cases based on analogous laws in that state. You just might have a shorter statute of limitations or other state laws may apply. Now you know. Tell someone.