Within 10 working days from the date of filing the charge, the Respondent (company/employer) will be served a notice that a charge of discrimination has been filed against them. The Respondent will be given 15 working days from the date they received the charge to respond.
The investigation continues until both parties (Charging Party and Respondent) agree to a settlement (No Fault Settlement) or until a determination has been reached by the Administrator (Cause or No Cause).
The case may be closed as a "No Fault Settlement" where both parties reach an agreeable settlement. The Charging Party promises to withdraw the charge in exchange for promises by the Respondent to provide some type of benefit.
A "No Cause" determination will be made if there is not sufficient evidence to believe that the Charging Party was discriminated against. The Charging Party has the right to appeal this determination to the Austin Human Rights Commission if the charge is an Ordinance charge or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) if the charge is dually filed and a Title VII, ADEA, or ADA charge. To appeal, the Charging Party must request an "Administrative Review" by the Commission within 10 days or request a "Substantial Weight Review" from EEOC within 15 days from receiving the "No Cause" letter of determination.
If sufficient evidence is available to believe that the Charging Party was discriminated against, and the Respondent is unwilling to provide appropriate remedy as specified and allowed by Title VII, a "Cause" determination will be made.
The case will then be assigned to an investigator, a "Conciliator", who will attempt to conciliate a settlement. The Conciliator gives the Respondent 30 days to provide remedy. If attempts to settle the charge through conciliation fail, the case will then be closed as a "Failure to Conciliate" and will be sent to EEOC for further processing. An Ordinance charge will/could be forwarded to the City Legal Department for filing in Municipal Court should conciliation fail.
If any of the above actions has not taken place within a 180-day period form the day the charge was filed, the Charging Party may request a "Right to Sue". The Right to Sue allows a Charging party to file a lawsuit against the Respondent in either State or Federal Court. Under the City Ordinance there is no provision for issuing a "Right to Sue".
If the Charging Party chooses to file in State Court, he or she must do so within two years from the date the charge of discrimination was filed. The Charging Party has 90 days to file in Federal Court after the Right-To-Sue Notice is issued.
A Charging Party may have his or her own legal representative at any time.
Should a Charging Party have any questions, contact the Investigator.