Defending Discrimination Claims

Being the subject of a charge of discrimination launched by a disgruntled employee was once a rare event for an employer. But, now, employers frequently are being required to defend themselves before state and federal discrimination agencies. This is occurring because there are more state and federal discrimination laws than ever before and employees are more aware of their rights and avenues of redress. Some 95,000 charges of discrimination were filed with the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last year  a 49% increase from 1991.

Not only does the Federal EEOC investigate employee charges of discrimination, but so do other agencies, such as the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. In addition, some cities, such as Dayton, have their own agency, like the Dayton Human Relations Council. Therefore, an employer can find itself being required to wage a successful defense against three different agencies at relatively the same time.