The Missing Right-to-Sue Letters
I wish I had a dollar for everytime this has happened here in San Antonio or especially across the country. A person came to see me who did *not* receive his "right-to-sue letter" from the EEOC. It was sent four months ago, but he just now found out about it. He contacted the EEOC to get a status report and learned of his RTS letter. Across the country, this happens many times, perhaps dozens, each year. It has been a problem ever since some time in the 1970's when the EEOC stopped sending right-to-sue letters certified.
Invariably, the Charging Party (the employee filing the complaint) responds to this problem by going to the EEOC and asking them to rescind the first RTS letter and issue a new one. Most regional offices refuse. They point to their log that says they mailed the letter. They offer nothing else. The employee is stuck.
A right-to-sue letter is the street term for the Dismissal and Notice of Rights. The EEOC sends these out as a conclusion to its supposed investigation. The Notice notifies the Charging Party that s/he must file their lawsuit within 90 days. If you miss the 90 days, your rights to file suit are waived forever. Just a few days ago, I talked about how hard it can be to hire a lawyer for these cases. It is a heck of a lot harder if your rights have already expired.....
There may be ways around this. That is, there are one or two other causes of action one may be able to file for particular types of discrimination. But, darn, discrimination cases are difficult enough without having statute of limitation (deadline to file suit) issues floating around.
