Discrimination FAQs
Q: How do I establish a claim for age discrimination?
A: You will need to establish the following:
Ø You were at least 40 years of age at the time of the alleged wrong;
Ø You were subjected to an adverse employment action;
Ø You were otherwise qualified for the position; and
Ø After you were terminated or rejected, a substantially younger applicant replaced you or your termination permitted the retention of a substantially younger employee.
You must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that age was the “but-for” cause of the challenged adverse employment action. The burden of persuasion does not shift to the employer to show that it would have taken the action regardless of age, even when you have produced some evidence that age was one motivating factor in that decision.
Q: What should I do if I feel I was discriminated against because of my age?
A: In Ohio, you can file a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC), or you can file your own lawsuit against your employer in court. However, the filing of an OCRC claim may prevent filing a lawsuit in court under the Ohio Revised Code. You should obtain an opinion from one of our attorneys by calling 330-376-8855 before filing a claim.
Q: How do I establish a claim for sex discrimination?
A: You will need to establish the following:
Ø You are a member of a protected class;
Ø You were subjected to an adverse employment decision;
Ø You were qualified for the position; and
Ø You were treated differently than a similarly situated individual outside the protected class.
If your employer offers a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the adverse action, you will be required to show that that the employer's reason was pretextual and the real reason behind the adverse action was based on your sex.
Q: What should I do if I feel I was discriminated against because of my race, ethnicity, gender, disability, or religion?
A: You may file a discrimination complaint with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging the discrimination, or you may call Edward L. Gilbert Co, LPA at 330-376-8855 prior to going to the OCRC or EEOC.
The OCRC and EEOC have a work-sharing agreement, which means that the agencies cooperate with each other to process claims. Filing a claim with both agencies is unnecessary, as long as you indicate to one of the agencies that you want it to “cross-file” the claim with the other agency.
If your workplace has between 4 and 14 employees, you should file with the OCRC, because the EEOC enforces federal law which covers only employers with 15 or more employees. However, you must file your complaint with the OCRC or EEOC before you are able to file lawsuit in federal court under the federal discrimination laws.
Q: How long do I have to file a claim or lawsuit?
A: In the areas of Employment, Public Accommodation, Credit and Higher Education-Disability, you must file with the OCRC (or cross-file with the EEOC) within 180 days of the date you believe you were discriminated against. In the area of Housing, a person has one year from the date of harm to file a charge of discrimination. To preserve your claim under federal law, you must file with the EEOC (or cross-file with the state agency) within 300 days of the date you believe you were discriminated against. However, as you might have other legal claims with shorter deadlines, do not wait to file your claim until your time limit is close to expiring. You may wish to consult with Edward L. Gilbert Co, LPA prior to filing your claim, if possible. However, it is not necessary to retain an attorney to file your discrimination claim with the OCRC or EEOC.