Filing a Discrimination Claim – Colorado

The Colorado Fair Employment Practices Act makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, sexual orientation, and physical or mental disability. Recently, the statute was amended to allow an employee to recover both economic, non-economic, and punitive damages from employers, including businesses with fewer than 15 employees, who are found liable for discriminating on the basis of a protected class mentioned above. The amendment also allows a prevailing employee to recovery attorney’s fees and costs.

A discrimination claim can be filed either with the state administrative agency, the Colorado Civil Rights Division (CCRD), or with the federal administrative agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The two agencies have what is called a “work-sharing agreement,” which means that the agencies cooperate with each other to process claims. Filing a claim with both agencies is unnecessary, as long as you indicate to one of the agencies that you want it to “cross-file” the claim with the other agency. The Colorado anti-discrimination statute covers employers of any size. Therefore, if your workplace has between 1 and 14 employees, you should file with the CCRD. The EEOC enforces federal law, which covers only employers with 15 or more employees (or 20 in the case of age discrimination). Some Colorado attorneys recommend that you file with the CCRD first for all types of discrimination claims, due to the convenience of having several CCRD offices in the state and the CCRD’s ability to proceed more quickly with investigations. To file a claim with the CCRD, contact its office below. More information about filing a claim with the CCRD can be found at the CCRD website.

Division of Civil Rights – Main Office 1560 Broadway, Suite 1050 Denver, CO 80202 Phone: (303) 894-2997 Toll-Free (English/Spanish): (800) 262-4845 Fax: (303) 894-7830Grand Junction – Regional Office 222 South 6th Street, Suite 301 Grand Junction, CO 81501 Office Phone: 970-248-7304 Fax: 303-894-7830Pueblo – Regional Office 301 North Main Street, Suite 305 Pueblo, CO 81003 Office Phone: 719-542-1298 Fax: 303-894-7830

To file a claim with the EEOC, contact your local EEOC office below. More information about filing a claim with the EEOC can be found at the EEOC Filing a Charge page.

EEOC — Denver District Office 303 East 17th Avenue Suite 410 Denver, CO 80203 Phone: 303-866-4000 TTY: 800-669-6820

EEOC has launched an online service that enables individuals who have filed a discrimination charge to check the status of their charge online.  This service provides a portal to upload and receive documents and communicate with the EEOC, allowing for a faster transmitting period.  Those who have filed a charge can access information about their charge at their convenience, and allow entities that have been charged to receive the same information on the status of the charge.  All of the EEOC offices now use the Digital Charge System.  If you file on or after September 2, 2016, the Online Charge Status System is available for use.  The system is not available for charges filed prior to this date or for charges filed with EEOC’s state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies. The system can be accessed at the EEOC website. If you do not have internet or need language assistance, you may call the toll-free number at 1-800-669-4000. For additional help, you may also call the toll free number to retrieve the same information provided in the Online Charge Status System. You may also wish to check with your city or county to see if you live and/or work in a city or county with a local anti-discrimination law, or “ordinance.” Some cities and counties in Colorado (including Aspen, Denver and Boulder) have agencies that process claims under local ordinances and may be able to assist you. Unlike federal or state law, these ordinances also cover discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. These agencies are often called the “Human Rights Commission,” “Human Relations Commission,” or the “Civil Rights Commission.” Check your local telephone directory or government website for further information.

Do not delay in contacting the CCRD or EEOC to file a claim. There are strict time limits in which charges of employment discrimination must be filed. To preserve your claim under state law, you must file with the CCRD (or cross-file with the EEOC) within 180 days of the date you believe you were discriminated against. To preserve your claim under federal law, you must file with the EEOC (or cross-file with the state agency) within 300 days of the date you believe you were discriminated against. However, as you might have other legal claims with shorter deadlines, do not wait to file your claim until your time limit is close to expiring. You may wish to consult with an attorney prior to filing your claim, if possible. Yet if you are unable to find an attorney who will assist you, it is not necessary to have an attorney to file your discrimination claim with the state and federal administrative agencies.

When your charge is filed, the EEOC will give you a copy of your charge with your charge number. Within 10 days, the EEOC will also send a notice and a copy of the charge to the employer. At that point, the EEOC may decide to do one of the following:

• Ask both you and the employer to take part in a mediation program
• Ask the employer to provide a written answer to your charge and answer questions related to your claim, then your charge will be given to an investigator
• Dismiss the claim if your charge was not filed in time or if the EEOC does not have jurisdiction

If the EEOC decides to investigate your charge, they may interview witnesses and gather documents.  Once the investigation is complete, they will let you and the employer know the result. If the EEOC decides that discrimination did not occur then they will send you a “Notice of Right to Sue.” This notice gives you permission to file a lawsuit in a court of law. If the EEOC determines that discrimination occurred then they will try to reach a voluntary settlement with the employer. If a settlement cannot reached, your case will be referred to the EEOC’s legal staff (or the Department of Justice in certain cases), who will decide whether or not the agency should file a lawsuit. If the EEOC decides not to file a lawsuit then they will give you a “Notice of Right to Sue.” How long the investigation takes depends on a lot of different things, including the amount of information that needs to be gathered and analyzed. On average, it takes the EEOC nearly 6 months to investigate a charge. A charge is often able to settle faster through mediation (usually in less than 3 months).

If your case is successfully resolved by an administrative agency, it may not be necessary to hire an attorney or file a lawsuit. In resolving your case, the administrative agency may require you to sign a release of your legal claims. If your case is not resolved by the CCRD or EEOC and you want to continue to pursue the matter, you will need to pursue your claim in court. A federal employment discrimination case cannot be filed in court without first going to the EEOC, as discussed above, and having the EEOC dismiss your claim. This process is called “exhaustion” of your administrative remedy. Similarly, before you can proceed with a lawsuit based on your state discrimination claim, you must file with the CCRD. Because Colorado’s state antidiscrimination statute caps or limits damages and does not allow for a trial by jury, many Colorado attorneys choose to file employment discrimination cases in federal court using federal law. A case filed in state court using federal law may be “removed” to federal court by the employer because it involves a federal statute, such as Title VII or the ADEA. The EEOC must first issue the document known as “Dismissal and Notice of Rights” or “Notice of Right to Sue” before you can file a case based upon your federal claim. A lawsuit based on your federal discrimination claim must be filed in federal or state court within 90 days of the date you receive the notice. Be sure to mark down that date when you receive the notice. A lawsuit based on your state claim must be filed within 90 days of receiving a similar letter from the CCRD. These deadlines are called the “statute of limitations.” If you have received one of these agency dismissal letters, do not delay consulting with an attorney. If your lawsuit is not filed by the deadline, then you may lose your ability to pursue a discrimination case.