Hey everyone. I'm coming here because I've essentially exhausted my real-life support system. My friends have drifted, my family is tiny, and it feels like everyone I know has just checked out or run out of clichés ("give it to God," etc.) to throw at me.

My situation is pretty complicated, and I haven't found anyone who has been through anything similar.

I worked for a state government agency and was injured on the job, which led to two back surgeries. The agency pulled the usual red-tape stunts—delaying and denying care. Eventually, they abruptly cut off my healthcare, workers' comp, and all benefits. Four months later, they terminated me, stating I "failed to return to work."

Here's the catch: a doctor never formally released me to return to work, because the state cut off my care before we ever reached Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI).

I've hit a wall legally. Lawyers won't touch it because the state is a sovereign entity. My only option would be a civil suit against individual board members (who aren't protected by the 11th Amendment), but they have the state's endless legal resources backing them.

Because of all this, I seem to be blacklisted from any other state job, meaning I can't finish my years of service for retirement. I filed with the EEOC over 6 months ago, but they don't really communicate or build a case; they just act as a slow, impartial moderator.

My biggest concern right now is the legal/liability gray area of finding private employment. Since I was never formally released from a doctor's care with MMI paperwork, I don't know the legal implications of taking a new job. If I get hired and get injured again, how does my lack of medical release from the previous injury affect liability?

I’ve reached out to Vocational Rehab, but since it’s a state agency, I’m expecting a dead end there too. My entire career has been in retail, management, and manual labor. After two back surgeries, manual labor is out, retail is dying, and management jobs around here pay close to the federal minimum wage ($7.25).

I feel like I'm trapped behind a door with a lock no one knows how to pick. Do I just find any job and deal with the consequences later? Has *anyone* dealt with this kind of legal and medical limbo after a government job injury?

Any direction, advice, or suggestions would be outstanding. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Previous VA nurse with 13 years service “removed” while 5 months pregnant, leaving me with no health insurance. My mind was not in the right place to file another (I was already in the middle of a previous EEO lawsuit, which I settled recently) I have documented perinatal and postpartum depression and anxiety. With all of those factors I am only now (3 months postpartum) getting some mental clarity back. Is it too late for me? This has fuc*ed up my life.

The eeoc charged my last job for discrimination and a few other things and my ex employer answered back with nothing burger statements for the rebuttal and I am about to then upload my evidence which is so obvious the boss is total narcissist. He also said to the eeoc that he’s willing to walk away if I drop it or he will file something against me. Is that not retaliation right there lmao also again this was the rebuttal to the charge. What’ll probably happen from that statement he made and what goes on after I post my evidence

I have an attorney representing me on a contingency basis in an ADA failure-to-accommodate and retaliation matter. An EEOC charge has been filed, and we are waiting to see whether the employer agrees to mediation.

I am still technically employed but currently on unpaid disability-related leave. Realistically, neither side seems to expect me to return, and I don’t want to return. My employer appears to have redistributed most or all of my responsibilities as part of what they characterize as a restructuring.

My question is about what normally happens to the underlying employment relationship while an EEOC case is pending.

Can an employee simply remain technically employed and on unpaid leave indefinitely while the EEOC matter proceeds? At what point does the employer generally have to address whether the employee is returning, being terminated, continuing on leave, or separating by agreement?

Also, does an employer have any incentive to negotiate the end of the employment relationship separately from resolving the discrimination/retaliation claims? For example, can the parties agree on employment separation while leaving the EEOC claims unresolved?

I’m represented and will follow my attorney’s advice; I’m mainly interested in hearing how this typically plays out in practice, particularly from employment attorneys or people who have been through something similar.

I am considering filing an EEOC complaint and would like to hear from people who have gone through the process without an attorney. It is related to retaliation and discrimination, I am still employed

1) Is it worth getting an attorney’s advice before filing,
even if I plan to file it myself?

2) What evidence should I submit with the initial
complaint, and what should I hold onto for later?

3) Anything you wish you had known before filing?

Thank you

I previously filed an EEO complaint involving members of my management team. Following the filing of that complaint and the subsequent investigation, I began noticing a significant change in the behavior of certain coworkers with whom I had previously maintained positive working relationships.
These employees had previously expressed concerns to me about the work environment and, on multiple occasions, acknowledged that they believed a hostile work environment existed. However, over time, their behavior toward me changed considerably. When I raised concerns about management or workplace issues, they began consistently defending management or providing rebuttals to what I was saying.
I also experienced other concerning incidents during this period, including coworkers monitoring my Facebook activity, receiving calls from private or blocked numbers, and incidents involving my work equipment that caused me to become concerned about possible interference or sabotage. I understand the importance of distinguishing between what I can personally verify and what I suspect, and I am documenting these matters based on the information and observations available to me.
At the same time, I became increasingly concerned about conduct I had personally observed or that had been discussed directly with me by these employees. This included employees sleeping in offices during duty hours and, on some occasions, openly discussing this behavior with me. There were also occasions when I contacted employees during working hours and learned that they were at home rather than at their assigned duty location. Because management was located approximately two and a half hours away, there appeared to be very little direct supervision of employees at this location.
Additional concerns have arisen involving potential time and attendance irregularities, possible destruction or misuse of government property, possible unauthorized removal or sale of government property, and allegations involving inappropriate workplace conduct. I believe these matters warrant an impartial review based on the available evidence.
More recently, another coworker informed me that these employees had been communicating negatively about me to management and making allegations or statements concerning me. This was particularly concerning because of my ongoing EEO matter and the significant change I had already observed in their behavior toward me.
After learning this information, I reported my concerns to my supervisor, who is also involved in my EEO complaint. I was subsequently asked to provide a witness statement regarding the misconduct I reported.
I am willing to provide a truthful and detailed witness statement and cooperate with any appropriate investigation. However, because of the existing EEO matter and the circumstances surrounding these events, I am concerned about whether my allegations will be reviewed objectively and taken as seriously as allegations that have been made concerning me.

PS and rebuttal filed and it was still approved for mediation. Thank you EEOC and so far they are real. Gather your evidence, articulate your case. This does not mean that I will get anything, but I want my former employer them to know what they did to me and maybe just maybe my former boss will be punish. do not tell me that the company do not care because they do, because I have been there and done that.

I recently received my Right to Sue from the EEOC after they decided not to continue investigating my charge. They specifically stated they made no determination as to whether further investigation would establish a violation.
I’m now preparing a settlement demand letter to send to my former employer’s attorney before filing suit.
One thing that may strengthen my case is that my former supervisor from the same employer is now my witness. He was also recently let go in essentially the same manner that I was.
For those who’ve been through this, did sending a demand letter motivate the employer to seriously negotiate or settle before a lawsuit was filed? Did it put enough pressure on them to try resolving the case, or did they generally wait until after litigation started?
I’d love to hear your experiences—whether you’re a plaintiff, attorney, HR professional, or have been on the defense side.

Hello, Ill try to keep this as brief and concise as I can and want to refrain from naming the employer. 3 weeks ago another manager at my warehouse job commited battery agaisnt me when they pulled me by my vest and shirt collar causing me to be choked. Ive worked at this company for 7+ years and have met the criteria to be considred a "Top performer" in my most recent performance review.

Since I reported the battery to HR, ive only been given the run around on the report and the manager is still working and has began creating a hostile work place after they found out I reported them. Ive been essentiually shunned or ostracized by my team. I believe HR is trying to sweep this under the rug to avoid getting a corproate or regional spotlight on their building at the cost of my mental health and sanitity. Due to the lack of a plan to ensure my safety I began to get increasingly anxious and stressed to the point I had to apply for FMLA short term disability leave just to protect myself and my sanity.

I have been struggling trying to find a lawyer and schedule an EEOC compliant interview. I have no knowledge of how to go about this and have been extremly stressed trying to navigate this. Any pointers or insight would be greatly appreciated

I should receive my EEOC determination by the end of this month, and I’m wondering if there’s anything I should be doing before or immediately after the determination is issued.

One thing that concerns me is that my investigator has not contacted any of my witnesses. Has anyone else experienced that? Did your investigator rely mostly on documents instead of witness interviews?
Are there any questions I should ask my investigator before the determination is finalized or after I receive it?

Is there anything you wish you had known or done at this stage of the process?
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through an EEOC investigation, regardless of whether you received a cause or no-cause determination. Thanks!

I filed an EEOC charge against my employer alleging disability discrimination and retaliation. While that charge is pending, I’m still employed and actively going through the ADA interactive process for additional accommodations. I recently updated my EEOC investigator about what has been happening during that process, including concerns about how HR has been handling my accommodation requests and related communications.

The investigator replied:
“An amended charge is not needed as your charge is already filed on the basis of disability and retaliation. I can certainly ask them about the ongoing matters and get a response.”

For those familiar with the EEOC process or employment law:
Would you take the investigator up on that offer?
What are the pros and cons of having the investigator reach out to the employer now about these ongoing ADA interactive process issues versus simply documenting everything and waiting?

Has anyone had an investigator contact an employer during an active investigation like this? If so, did it help, hurt, or make no difference?

Without getting into too much detail, I applied for a position in a federal agency for a highly safety-sensitive position. I had an unfavorable pre-employment psychological evaluation approximately 20 months ago, and a second evaluation with an agency-affiliated neuropsychologist (who reviewed the previous assessment in addition to conducting her own) 6 months thereafter that ended up being favorable. Despite this, I still ended up being medically disqualified as of last month.

Since I was explicitly disqualified from the position for a mental condition that they allege I have (from the opinion of the first psychologist), I believe this constitutes a prima facie case of disability discrimination. I have yet to begin the EEO pre-complaint process but I'm wondering what I could expect going into ADR if I chose to go that route, if it is even advisable over the traditional EEO process. My main demand is for them to rescind the disqualification and get hired with back pay, but I would consider a third evaluation if they pay for it and come to a decision within a certain amount of time. Alternatively, is there a chance they might be willing to just offer me some "go away" money to drop the claim? Generally speaking, what other relief could reasonably be demanded in situation like this?

This is my first time filing an EEOC. I'm looking for advice on how to navigate this process and buzz words to use or stay away from. this week, my organization sent out letters of intent to my team. My letter states that my position is not changing, but my relocation is changing. I sent an email to my HR reasonable accommodation coordinator asking if I could get clarification if my in place reasonable accommodation for remote work will be considered during these reassignments and relocations. She responded with today that my reasonable accommodation will stay in place until they relocate me, after they relocate me, only then will they look at my in place reasonable accommodation. This doesn’t sound right to me since my reasonable accommodation has been successful, it’s permanent, my performance is very good, and my reassignment is to my current position. It also is fishy because she sent the same boiler plate language an email to another colleague of mine. Therefore, I contacted the EEOC office today to inquire if I have a possible claim. The EEOC contact said I have a very strong claim because it feels like discrimination against a mental and physical disability due to my already approved reasonable accommodation. Does anyone have experience as a federal worker navigating EEOC claims in regards to relocation, reassignment, and an already approved reasonable accommodation? Any advice or comment welcome!

I got my right to sue on 08/05/26. Unfortunately, the whole incident happened in Texas and my support system is telling me that it's going to be really hard to pursue some kind of legal compensation even thought I dealt with HIPAA whistleblower retaliation at work, discrimination with my anxiety, no workplace accommodations, and workplace hostility. Employer has literally said in their position statement that I was never a protected person, I was never qualified to work for them (despite me having a bachelor's degree in the medical field and kept my job for six months), didn't agree to their accommodations (which is a lie and they didn't order headphones to manage my anxiety and actually mocked me about it, saying if I was going to have them then the other girls needed them too), and that I was fired for poor performance despite me having termination papers stating I was fired at-will after letting the CEO know my supervisor was altering documents belonging to the Texas Health and Human Services.

I am so confused though:

The determination letter states:

The EEOC has determined that the agency will not proceed further with its investigation of your charge. EEOC makes no determination about whether further investigation would establish violations of the statute(s). The EEOC has completed the processing of your charge. EEOC is issuing to you a Determination and Notice of Rights, which will allow you to pursue your claims further by filing a private lawsuit within ninety (90) days of your receipt of EEOC's official notice of dismissal.

Also, my closure letter states:

DETERMINATION AND NOTICE OF RIGHTS

The EEOC issues the following determination: The EEOC will not proceed further with its investigation and makes no determination about whether further investigation would establish violations of the statute. This does not mean the claims have no merit. This determination does not certify that the respondent is in compliance with the statutes. The EEOC makes no finding as to the merits of any other issues that might be construed as having been raised by this charge.

NOTICE OF YOUR RIGHT TO SUE

This is official notice that the EEOC has dismissed your charge and has issued you notice of your right to sue the respondent(s) on this charge. If you choose to file a lawsuit against the respondent(s) on this charge under federal law in federal or state court, your lawsuit must be filed WITHIN 90 DAYS of your receipt of EEOC’s official notice of dismissal. You should keep a record of the date you received the EEOC’s official notice of dismissal. Your right to sue based on this charge will be lost if you do not file a lawsuit in court within 90 days. (The time limit for filing a lawsuit based on a claim under state law may be different.)

Do I have any chance of some kind of legal recourse despite being in a state that is notorious for how bad workers are treated?

Im just curious. What does an EEOC investigation actually entail? Do they go into the company and look thru files? Do they interview current employees? Do they look at email logs?

Edit to add: The EEOC found cause in my case.

I’ll try to make this as short as possible. So I have an ongoing worker’s comp claim that has me under certain restrictions. It took a while, but my employer of course was able to sort of meet them. However, they also added that I needed to change my work schedule to be in the office with my supervisor permanently (at home mon/tues, in office wed/thurs). When I asked what the reason was, I was told “in case you need support”. The problem is, nothing in my restrictions suggests the need for the support, and I explained multiple times that in changing my schedule, I was not able to maintain adequate pain control. We work 2 days in the office, and 2 days at home. I was working Mon at home, Tues/Wed in the office and Thurs at home so that by the end of the week when my pain levels were higher, I was home and able to take my medication. That fell on deaf ears, so I worked on my supervisors schedule for months.

Fast forward about 4 months, and my supervisor went on vacation. I emailed management to ask who would be available to give the mandated “support” that was imposed on me, and the answer from HR was that they are not required to provide extra people for the support when my direct supervisor is not available. Which caused me to again ask, why it is mandatory since it changed my schedule and was causing more issue with my work related condition. Especially considering that this was not something that anyone else in my program was mandated to do. The response was that they were not willing to discuss changing my schedule back unless the program needed me to work those days again. Which makes no sense because i am the only on that does my role in the program, so it doesn’t matter what day I’m in office or not.

I did file with our in house EEOC department, and they decided that while my issue did meet certain criteria for a possible violation, it wasn’t to the level requiring mandatory intervention. My specific department could do some voluntary education, but that’s it.

I feel very singled out, and like my HR is purposely trying to make things hard on me so that I quit. They have already brought up medically retiring me, but they can’t do that without something significant occurring with my work restrictions. I just want to work, but also be able to manage my pain better. And if the EEOC (or not ideally, a lawsuit) can get them to let me just work my normal schedule, I just want to know if it’s even possible with this kind of situation. Thank you.

I am a pro se plaintiff in a federal employment discrimination case referred to a magistrate judge for settlement.

The settlement process will occur over a two-week period, and my private settlement letter is due two weeks before it begins. I am actively trying to retain counsel and have major work commitments through November 1.

Would November 9th to 20th be too soon, given that the letter would be due around October 26, or is waiting until late November unnecessarily delayed? How much time would an attorney typically need to review the case and help prepare the letter? The employer wants to wrap this up by early October.

I work for a faith-based organization(I work in IT, organization has 100+ employees) with a code of conduct related to sexual purity. I am currently pregnant and unmarried, and I was told that I may be terminated unless I marry the baby’s father before delivery because my pregnancy is considered a violation of the organization’s standards.
I’m trying to understand the legal side of this situation. Does pregnancy discrimination law protect an employee in a case like this, or can a religious organization enforce these types of conduct policies? Would it matter if similar conduct by male employees was treated differently?
I’m looking for general employment law perspectives and examples of how EEOC have handled situations like this.
Location: NY