The Northwest Arkansas employment law firm, Placzek Law Firm, PLLC represents employees who have been subjected to unlawful discrimination. Employment discrimination is a serious problem that Gregory A. Placzek has devoted his career to fighting.
Although, there are many different forms of workplace discrimination, the basic theory is the same. Discrimination occurs when an employee is treated differently than similar employees because of a protected characteristic. The most common forms of discrimination are religion, race, color, national origin, disability, pregnancy, and age. These rights come from many federal and state laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Section 1981 (race), the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Arkansas Civil Rights Act, and the Family Medical Leave Act. These laws also protect individuals from being retaliated against for complaining against discrimination. A Northwest Arkansas employment lawyer can help identify your rights under these laws.
Unfortunately, many employees do not realize that to protect certain rights they need to timely file a charge of discrimination with The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC is a federal agency charged with investigating claims of workplace discrimination and retaliation. For many cases, filing a charge of discrimination with the EEOC is a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit. In Arkansas, a charge must be filed with the EEOC within 180 days from the date of the alleged violation, in order to protect the employee’s rights. A company’s internal investigation does not usually stop this time period. Northwest Arkansas employment lawyer Gregory A. Placzek has assisted numerous clients with the EEOC process. Although, the process and terminology with the EEOC can sometimes seem complicated, a Northwest Arkansas employment attorney can assist in this process. Since the EEOC process is often mandatory before filing certain discrimination lawsuits, many lawyers including Gregory A. Placzek prefer to be involved in the EEOC process prior to the actual filing of a lawsuit.
This limited amount of time to take action is one reason for consulting a Northwest Arkansas employment lawyer sooner rather than later. Additionally, a Northwest Arkansas employment lawyer can see if any exceptions to the 180 day rule apply such as 42 U.S.C. 1981 (Section 1981). Do not think that an employer’s internal investigation will stop the 180 day rule from applying.