DocketXDocketX / Filing in federal court
Filing a federal lawsuit against your employer
Once an agency complaint has run its course, or your claim doesn't require one, a federal lawsuit follows a real, ordered process: a complaint, service, an answer or early motion, discovery, possible summary judgment, a settlement conference, and trial if none of that resolves it. Every step here is written honestly, with no invented deadlines or dollar figures, and points to our verbatim rules library instead of paraphrasing the actual rule text.
The roadmap
How to file a federal lawsuit against your employer
The real sequence for filing a federal employment lawsuit: the agency step most claims require first
Open →An arbitration agreement might block my lawsuit
Whether a mandatory arbitration agreement you signed actually prevents you from filing a federal law
Open →Appealing an employment case
What appealing a federal employment case actually involves, why it's a narrow, technical process, an
Open →Back pay and front pay, explained
The real difference between back pay and front pay in an employment case, and the honest duty to loo
Open →Class action vs. individual lawsuit
The honest tradeoffs between joining or starting a class or collective action versus filing your own
Open →Damages in employment cases: the overview
The categories of damages an employment case can actually seek, back pay, front pay, compensatory, a
Open →Deposition basics
What a deposition actually is, what happens in the room, and how to prepare for giving or taking one
Open →Discovery, explained
What the discovery phase of a federal employment lawsuit actually involves: the tools each side uses
Open →EEOC charge vs. federal lawsuit
The real differences between filing an agency charge and filing a federal lawsuit: who investigates,
Open →Electronic filing for self-represented plaintiffs
How federal courts' electronic filing system works, and what a self-represented plaintiff actually n
Open →Emotional distress damages, explained
What it actually takes to prove and recover compensatory damages for emotional distress in an employ
Open →Federal court vs. state court for employment claims
Why some employment claims can go to either federal or state court, why some claims are better handl
Open →Finding your federal district court
How federal judicial districts and divisions work, and how to figure out which one your employment c
Open →How to actually serve your employer
What formally serving your employer with a federal complaint actually involves, and why getting it w
Open →Jury trial vs. bench trial
The real difference between a jury trial and a bench trial in a federal employment case, and the hon
Open →Motion to dismiss, explained
What a motion to dismiss actually argues, why employers file them so often in employment cases, and
Open →Representing yourself in federal court
What self-representation in a federal employment case actually looks like, where the added rigor of
Open →Settlement conference, explained
What a court-ordered or voluntary settlement conference in an employment case actually looks like, a
Open →Subpoena basics
What a subpoena actually is, and how a party, including a self-represented one, can use one to get d
Open →Summary judgment, explained
What a summary judgment motion actually argues after discovery, why it's the stage where most employ
Open →The deadline you can't afford to guess at
Why every federal employment claim has a real, running deadline, why that deadline varies too much b
Open →The filing fee and fee waivers
What the federal court filing fee actually covers, and how requesting a fee waiver for financial har
Open →What a federal judge actually expects from you
The honest, practical expectations a federal judge holds every plaintiff to, self-represented or not
Open →What happens after you file a federal lawsuit
The real sequence of events after a federal employment complaint is filed and served, from the emplo
Open →You got a right-to-sue letter, now what
What a right-to-sue notice actually is, what it lets you do, and the honest urgency around it once i
Open →You don't need a lawyer to start
You are allowed to do this yourself, but it is genuinely harder than small claims
Federal litigation is a real step up from small claims or an agency complaint. Read our pro se guide for how self-representation actually works, and if a lawyer's cost is the blocker, our can't-afford-a-lawyer triage covers every free and low-cost path, many employment lawyers also take strong cases on contingency, see why that's realistic. If your case is really about one specific person's conduct, see who you can actually name as a defendant.
Not legal advice and not a law firm. We don't predict outcomes, and deadlines, fees, and damages structures vary by claim, by state, and by court, and change over time, never rely on a number from this page, confirm with the court or a lawyer directly. If you can get a lawyer or free legal aid, do: start at lsc.gov.