Legal Question in Employment Law in California
I filed a complaint with the DFEH and they told me that they were going "take the charge of retaliation" against my former employer and conduct an investigation.They informed me of this in August 2011.I realize that this can take months until they complete their investigation.If the results are in my favor what might some of my options be?Mediation/negotiation?Would it be better to have a lawyer represent me as opposed to DFEH lawyers?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Hello. In the vast majority of cases, the DFEH concludes that they didn't really find anything and they issue a right to sue letter, which is a pre-requisite to filing a lawsuit for FEHA violations against an employer. The conclusions of DFEH don't really say anything about the merits of the case. Of course, if DFEH indeed dismisses the case you are well advised to contact an employment attorney to discuss the merits of your case. The right to sue letter also may be obtained at any time online by an attorney by simply filling out an electronic form. This shortcuts the whole DFEH process.
If the DFEH issues finding, they might want to prosecute the case, issue fines and penalties against the employer and award compensation to you. This happens very rarely however.
Thanks,
Arkady Itkin
San Francisco Employment Lawyer