Filing a Charge

It can be painful to be treated adversely because of your disability, whether the disability is diabetes, fibromyalgia, quadriplegia, or another condition. The federal Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits disability discrimination in workplaces, along with public accommodations. In order to pursue damages for workplace discrimination under the ADA, you will first need to file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). You would need to file a complaint with the Department of Justice if you faced discrimination in a public accommodation. If you are concerned about filing a charge of disability discrimination, you should consult experienced Washington D.C. ADA claims attorney Matthew T. Famiglietti.

Disability discrimination occurs if an entity covered by the ADA treats you unfavorably because you have a disability. The discriminatory conduct could involve termination, failure to hire, failure to promote, or demotion based on your disability. When this discrimination occurs in the workplace, you must be qualified for the job in order to pursue a claim. Disability discrimination also occurs if you have a history of disability, or you have a physical or mental impairment that’s not transitory or that’s minor. Under the ADA, you could also have a claim if your employer failed to provide you with a reasonable accommodation when doing so would not have caused an undue hardship to the employer.

In order to bring a lawsuit under the ADA for workplace discrimination, you’ll need to file a charge with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within a narrow window of time. The charge is a signed statement stating that an employer, union, or labor organization discriminated you and asking that the EEOC take remedial action. The charge is supposed to be filed at the EEOC office closest to where you live or at one of the agency’s field offices.

While you could file a charge on your own, it would likely be helpful to retain our lawyer to file it for you as we can help make sure that you understand the full scope of your rights and consider how decisions made at this stage could affect litigation down the road in the event that the case doesn’t settle through the EEOC.

Your charge must specify what happened to you and why you believe you were discriminated against. It should describe when and where the disability discrimination took place, and the number of employees your employer has, if you know. It should specify what your disability is; for instance, if you are diabetic and asked for an accommodation to give yourself injections and your employer refused to give you an accommodation such as allowing you to keep a snack at your desk and slightly shift your schedule so that you could take a break to take an injection, you may have a claim for disability discrimination.

The charge should also include your name, address, email, and telephone number, as well as your employer’s. If you are filing a charge against an employment agency or union, the same information should be provided about it.

Once you file a charge with the EEOC, the agency must investigate to see whether there is reasonable cause to believe the charge is true.

If conciliation is not successful in connection with your charge against a state or local government employer, it will be referred to the Department of Justice and the Department will decide whether to pursue litigation based on the charge. If the Department decides it won’t bring a disability discrimination lawsuit, you will receive a notice of right to sue.

Public accommodations include 12 different categories of places of public accommodation including social service establishments, places of lodging, schools, and restaurants. When you believe you’ve been discriminated against by a public accommodation because of your disability, you can file a claim with the Disabilities Rights Section of the Department of Justice. The claim can be filed online or via mail or fax.

It is crucial to retain counsel when you’ve faced discrimination based on your disability. If you are concerned about filing a charge for an ADA claim in Washington D.C., you should discuss your situation with our principal Matthew T. Famiglietti. Mr. Famiglietti represents ADA claimants in D.C., Virginia, and Maryland. Fill out our online form or call the Law Office of Matthew T. Famiglietti at (202) 669-5880.

Please note, there is a consultation fee for any calls related to this practice area.