Workplace bullying or unfair treatment

Add the situation pack — about $19.99

Conduct Complaint Situation Pack

Your incidents set out in order, how employers usually handle conduct complaints, and your options if the behaviour continues.

• A dated record of every incident you described
• Witnesses and evidence to gather
• How to prepare for an investigation interview
• What to consider if nothing changes after the outcome

Which state do you work in?

We ask this in the builder before using any state-specific information. Where we don't hold reviewed content for your state, we say so rather than guessing.

General information sources we draw on

• A charge of discrimination is a signed statement asking the EEOC to take action. The EEOC describes how a charge is filed, how it may be investigated or mediated, and that it can issue a Notice of Right to Sue. Filing a complaint with your employer is a separate, internal step and is not the same as filing a charge.

  U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

• The EEOC explains that a charge of discrimination generally has to be filed within 180 calendar days of the act complained about, and that this can extend to 300 days where a state or local fair employment practices agency enforces a law covering the same thing. Federal employees follow a separate process with a much shorter first step. Deadlines are strict, and only the EEOC or a lawyer can tell you which one applies to your situation.

  U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

• EEOC guidance explains that retaliation for raising a discrimination concern is treated as a separate issue from the concern itself, and that protection can apply even where the original complaint is not upheld, provided it was raised in good faith. Keeping a dated record of what you raised and what happened afterwards is generally useful.

  U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission