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Workplace Discrimination

You were passed over for a promotion you deserved. A coworker made a comment about your age or the way you speak. You notice that people like you seem to be treated differently, and it feels like the reason is something about who you are. That kind of experience can be confusing and painful, but there is a real, ordered set of options to help you figure out whether what happened crosses a legal line.

The honest reality

Not every unfair or hurtful action at work is illegal discrimination. The law only covers situations where you were treated worse because of a specific protected characteristic like race, sex, age, disability, religion, or national origin. If the mistreatment was due to a personality conflict, a bad manager, or a general sense of unfairness without that link, it is likely not a legal claim.

This area is governed at the federal level by a law commonly called the Title VII. That is a name, not a citation; no section number is quoted here or anywhere else on this page, and state law can add more, check your state's page.

Your real options, cheapest first

  1. 1. Free: complain to the EEOC. Federal law covers race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, and genetic information; a charge here is generally required before you can sue. Start here.
  2. 2. Free: complain to your state's fair employment practices agency (find yours on the EEOC's state and local programs page). Many states also protect additional characteristics or offer a faster or parallel process; a charge is often automatically shared between the two. Start here.
  3. 3. A written request or demand first. A written complaint to HR describing what happened, when, and to whom, creates a record and starts the clock on your employer's own obligation to respond, even if you plan to file with an agency too.
  4. 4. Small claims court, where the amount is calculable. Discrimination claims almost always require proving a discriminatory motive or a pattern, which is outside what small claims court is built to handle.
  5. 5. A lawsuit or full agency case. You generally cannot sue for employment discrimination in federal court until the agency issues a right-to-sue letter or the required waiting period passes; after that, most people use an employment lawyer, often on contingency.

A warning on deadlines: every agency in the options above runs on its own filing deadline, and those deadlines are short and vary by agency, by claim, and by state. Do not estimate one from anything you read here, go to the agency's own page linked above and check its current deadline immediately, before you do anything else.

You don't need a lawyer to start

You are allowed to do this yourself

A regulator complaint, and for pay disputes small claims court, are both built for people without lawyers. Read our pro se guide for how self-representation actually works, our what happened at work triage tool if you are not even sure what category this falls into, and if a lawyer's cost is the blocker at any stage, our can't-afford-a-lawyer triage covers every free and low-cost path, including legal aid.

Questions

What counts as a protected characteristic under employment discrimination law?

Federal law protects you from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, age (40 and older), disability, and genetic information. Some states and cities add more protections, such as marital status or veteran status.

I was fired after I complained about discrimination. Is that illegal?

It can be. If your employer took a negative action against you because you reported discrimination, helped someone else report it, or participated in an investigation, that may be illegal retaliation. Retaliation is a separate legal claim and is treated seriously, even if the original discrimination claim is not proven.

How do I prove that my employer discriminated against me?

You do not need a confession or a direct statement. You can prove discrimination with indirect evidence, such as showing you were qualified but treated worse than someone outside your protected group, or that your employer made biased comments, or that a pattern of unequal treatment exists. The key is to show that your protected characteristic was a motivating factor in the decision.

Not legal advice and not a law firm. We don't predict outcomes, and deadlines and dollar thresholds vary by state and by claim, check your state's page before you rely on any number. If you can get a lawyer or free legal aid, do: start at lsc.gov.