An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 7 - Recognizing And Preventing Harassment, Discrimination And Retaliation

The EEOC has 120 days after receiving the charge to either dismiss the complaint or find that there is reasonable cause to find that the charge is true. If the EEOC determines the charge might be true, it will seek to remedy any perceived unlawful harassment through confidential and informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion. If conciliation fails, the EEOC will then refer the charge to the Attorney General, who may bring a civil lawsuit against the respondent employer. The EEOC’s reasonable cause finding is admissible in a lawsuit claiming a violation of Title VII. 1036 If the EEOC dismisses the charge, or does not take action on it within 180 days of receiving it, the EEOC must give the complainant a right to sue letter. The complainant will then have 90 days in which to file a civil lawsuit against the respondent named in the charge. 1037 The United States Supreme Court has addressed the statutory time period for consideration of events which fall outside of the prescribed time lines for filing a charge of discrimination with EEOC under Title VII. B. D EPARTMENT O F F AIR E MPLOYMENT A ND H OUSING An employee seeking damages under the FEHA must file a claim with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) within one year of the alleged harassment, discrimination, or retaliation. Once a complaint is filed, the DFEH either promptly investigates the complaint itself or refers it to the EEOC. If the DFEH keeps the complaint, it will notify the school that a complaint has been filed and will most likely ask the school to provide information regarding the complaint. If the DFEH keeps the complaint, investigates, and finds the complaint valid, it must then seek to resolve the complaint, in confidence, by conference, conciliation, and persuasion. 1038 Participation in the conciliation process is voluntary. If conciliation succeeds, the parties will reduce their resolution to writing, and the DFEH will conduct a compliance review the following year. 1039 If the conciliation process fails or does not seem appropriate, the DFEH may bring a civil action in the name of the DFEH on behalf of the aggrieved party. Prior to bringing a civil action, the DFEH requires parties to participate in its internal, free dispute resolution process to try to resolve the issue. 1040 If the DFEH does not bring a civil action within 150 days of receiving the complaint, or if the DFEH decides earlier not to prosecute the case, it must issue a right to sue letter to the complainant upon the complainant’s request. 1041 If the complainant does not request a right to sue letter, then the DFEH will issue its right to sue letter when it finishes its investigation but no later than one year after it received the complaint. 1042 Only after receiving a right to sue letter may a complainant file a lawsuit based on the alleged harassment, discrimination or retaliation. The complainant must file the lawsuit, if at all, within one year from the date of the right to sue letter. 1043

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 254