Dear all,

I want to know if someone has an idea how long the investigation last. I asked to the lady who is in charge of my case, and she told me that she is still in the process of investigating my complaint. She told me that she has talked with the respondent (the owner) but she said to me that she has tried to talk with the witnesses I provided, and she has left them many message in their home phone but nobody call her back. I told her that I am sure that nobody wants to be involved because they feel fear to lose their job. So what’s next? Any clue?

Please, any advice will be appreciate :(

There is no way to gauge how long an investigation will take, particularly when we have no idea of the facts of the matter.

Sorry, but I should have stayed in my original thread, so it was my mistake. Please, see below the facts of my case I wrote in a previous thread. This was my rebuttal from respondent did when I made the compaint.

Also some Important Dates:
Verbal complaint to my employer: July 2007
Complaint of Discrimnation in written to my employer: Nov 2007
Discharge: Dec 2007
Interview at FEHA : January 2008
Respondent Letter: February 2008
My below rebuttal: March 2008
Talk with FEHA about the status: June 2008

So Sorry, for this long thread again.

Thanks in advance

-----------------------------------------------------------

Department of Fair Employment & Housing

Re: XXXXX-00-CASE NUMBER


Dear:

In response to the respondent statements, I present the following information and further exhibits that support my claims of discrimination and retaliation:

1. Shortly after I made my claim on November 30th 2007, on December 2nd 2007, I received an email from Owner (EXHIBIT A) in response my email where I complained about the unlawful practices at xxxx. In the email Owner stated that he needed one day to revise it before I go back to the office. Owner never mentioned any termination meeting on November 16th 2007 as Owner pretend to state right now.
2. On December 3rd 2007, he sent to me an email where apparently he was trying to make up the meeting we had on November 16th as a termination meeting. I right away answered this email (EXHIBIT B) denying emphatically Owner assertion. Owner never replied it. In addition, as far as I know as an establish policy all the termination meetings are done by both Owners and they never terminate any employee without their participation, this has been particularly important in employees like me who has English as a second language. Hence, I declare that Owner has been trying to draft this fake assumption because the meeting we had was about the unethical and unlawful practices at xxxx. He has retained my personal valuable stuffs at the xxxx Office giving excuses until now.
3. In my complain gave to Owners on November 30th 2007 which I presented as part of claim to FEHA, I specifically mentioned what I consider was an ill-treatment doing by Owner against me on November 16th 2007.

In order to give more facts, I will describe with more details what happened in that meeting. Around 3:00 PM on November 16th 2007, I asked for a meeting because I wanted to ask for an extension of my vacation until November 30th, even though he agreed with my request the conversation was changed completely by Owner where taking advantage of his position as a owner he started maltreating me and made me serious accusations without any evidence.
Since at the moment of the conversation, Ms Y, Mr. Z and Mr. W ( Owner' Spouse, VP, and other employee) were in the office, I asked him to include a witness of this conversation, but Owner denied my demand.

In general terms, the conversation was about the following issues:
a. Owner said to me that I was unhappy at the company, but I told him that happiness for me does not imply I have to be in agreement with and/or to be part of unethical practices he was doing with a Customer when he sponsored to false documents to avoid a lawsuit. I told him my opposition to those practices because those were illegal and immoral.
As a reference, he supported to fake all kind of documents against the Customer, for instance:
i. Fake quality documents
ii. Fake official stamps of Supplier, Company Name:
iii. Ordered to notarize the fake documents
iv. Sign fake documents to deceive the customer
Everybody in the company knows about Owner actions, but there is direct witness of this act beside me, like Ms ZZ and right now the customer is suffering of a huge financial loss due to the owner.
b. He insulted me saying that I did not have gratitude to him because I was claiming about discrimination, harassment and equal compensation, however I told him that according to the law I have rights to claim what I considered were discriminatory practices against me.
c. He was reproaching me that I did not want to travel overseas, but I said to him that without safe conditions I was not able to travel. I also mentioned again that my health have been affected due to the trips. It angered him a lot. He said to me that the job is as it is, but I mentioned that Mrs. ZZZ, one of the employees that have travelled with me was very sick because of the demanding trips, so I was not willing to put in danger my health. I also remark that due to the attack I suffered in my country I had lost some organs that have affected my health. I also reminded owner that about two or three weeks before I had to go to ER for a heart problem.
d. Owner was constantly harassing me, during the meeting, about a suppose misconduct of the Latino customers he believe they do, I specifically warned to him that whatever opinion he has about the Latino Customer he has not any right to show aggression against the Latino Ethnic. This is because his comments were very hostile to the Latino people and I felt under harassment.
e. Owner showed his frustration due to my rejection to be part of his unethical practices, and threatened verbally. He knows that I am under an antidepressant treatment (taking medications) so I am very fragile (emotionally) therefore I was almost crying in the meeting.
His final reaction was gave to me and tried to pushed me to sign a paper that he called a severance agreement but without gave me any chance to review it. I specifically told him that I have no idea what the document was about because the legal nature of the document and I mentioned to him that I was under a serious stressful situation since I was told that my mother was very sick and I told him specifically that I was considering his conduct as an abuse and as a retaliation due to my complains about the unlawful practices against me at the company.
The meeting finished when I refused to continue being mistreated by Owner and his denied to include an observer to the meeting. On the other side, since it was around one hour and a half after my regular hours, and technically I was on vacation so I left the office.
I would like to remark that in my letter I gave to them on November 30th 2007, I denounced Owner first attempt to fake the meeting we had on November 16th 2007. Please read EXHIBIT A last paragraph I have highlight in green. This was because Owner sent to me an email when I was travelling overseas, without any chance to access internet.
Hence, and due to that Owner has faked official documents to avoid a lawsuit in the past, I would like to see the records and evidence Owners have offered to support that Owner and I had a termination meeting.
For the reasons stated above I declare under penalty of perjury that we never had a termination meeting.
4. Owner said that my termination were due to lack of sales, Owner appreciations that my work was not acceptable in quality and quantity, and due to Owner appreciations that he was dissatisfied with my sales and my attitude towards my job, however, those assumption are enough reasons to be specified in my termination notice, but all of those reason are new to me. Therefore, I will present the following information to deny those imputations:
a. Lack of sales. – This assertion is false since I started working at the company 2005; I got the highest single order in the whole history of the company.

b. Owner denied that they have not a formal performance review but she personally, on July 2007, gave to me a satisfactory performance review of my job and a salary increase. Owner specifically mentions that it was because of my hard work. I would like to remark that on February 2007, I had a previous salary increase due to a revision base on my job performance doing by Owner. I can provide my pay checks as a support of those salary increases.
c. On August 2007, Owners confirmed me that the company would pay me up $6,000.00 as a paid tuition. The company paid it. This was, according to Owners, due to my excellent performance.
d. Owner fails to state that my job was not only about sales, but also I have done different jobs at the company:
i. Marketing, develop the improvements in the Website
ii. Marketing, develop the new logo of the company
iii. Marketing, develop the company e-newsletter
iv. Marketing, develop flyers
v. IT, develop a database in File-maker
vi. Procedures, develop a sales manual
All these jobs were sponsored by Owner and they were eulogized in front of all the employees by both Owners. Furthermore, those jobs were part of my responsibilities since the beginning, and therefore Owner gave at the beginning the title of Marketing & Sales, and finally title of Sales Manager.

For all the reasons above I asserted that Owners never informed to me about any kind of bad performance from my side, they changed their attitude toward me after I complained about the unlawful and discriminatory practices against me. Before that, my job never was related only to sales, my work was constantly praised by both Owner, I received salary increases every year (15% in 2005, 10% in 2006 and a promotion, and 40% in 2007 ), and paid tuitions on 2006 & 2007 due to my excellent performance.
5. Owner stated that the meeting on July 12th 2007 was only in regards my compensation, and travel expenses but it was in regards discrimination, unequal payment and harassment I claimed verbally to Owners. I show the email sent by Owner 1 to both Owner 2 and I on July 10th 2007 (EXHIBIT C). The email asked for meeting to solve “buried issues” and moving forward. He also recognized in the email that they need definitely adjust my salary.
6. Owner' spouse assertion is inaccurate that I complain travel expenses on July 12th 2007. It was done on October 4TH 2007, I sent an email to Owner about my travel expenses and my health condition, and how the trips were affecting my health. She sent to me an email (EXHIBIT D). She specifically addressed the travel expenses issue and recognized that continue traveling could jeopardize my health.
7. Owner's spouse has made a serious accusation that is totally new to me. She said that the employees were unhappy with my supervision and my so called unpleasant way of conveying instruction, but I had not anybody under my direct supervision. I only worked with Ms. GGG who never complained what Owner said. According to company organizational structure everybody has two bosses the Owners.

For all the reasons stated above, I request further investigation of my allegations. I would like your advice if I need more evidence to support my claims.
I declare under penalty of perjury that all the statements I present in this letter are true base on my best knowledge.


Sincerely,

The DFEH must complete its investigation within 150 days of filing your complaint, unless it determines that it cannot complete its investigation within that time (which it usually does not). In any event, it cannot exceed one year from the filing of the complaint. If it does not issue an accusation within that time, or determines that it will not issue one, it will give you a right to sue letter. You then have 1 year from the right to sue to bring a civil action.

Dear all,

One of my claims against my ex-employer was done at Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) at U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C.

They accepted my claim in full to investigate more than two months ago, I talked to them yesterday, and they told me that they are still in the process of investigation, and in a month I will have a decision in not more than a month.

Any previous experience from anybody?

Thanks in advance

DFEH investigation is a purely symbolic procedure. It almost never means anything and does nothing except satisfying the requirement of exhausting administrative remedies as required by law before filing a lawsuit. I never wait for investigation to complete as it does nothing, but instead request an immediate right to sue letter. The best part about it now is that you can get it right away online. You just fill out the form and print out the right to sue letter.

Can I request an immediate right to sue letter, even if I have not received a final response from the DFEH and they said that it is still under investigation?

Yes, it's a pure formality anyway. You are better off being represented by counsel as the case might turn to be much more complex than at first appears.

DFEH investigation is a purely symbolic procedure. It almost never means anything and does nothing except satisfying the requirement of exhausting administrative remedies as required by law before filing a lawsuit. I never wait for investigation to complete as it does nothing, but instead request an immediate right to sue letter. The best part about it now is that you can get it right away online. You just fill out the form and print out the right to sue letter.

I disagree that it is purely symbolic. The DFEH issues accusations and prosecutes cases before the Fair Employment & Housing Commission which can result in substantial fines and compensatory damages. It also litigates cases in superior court in those cases where the complainant and/or respondent opts out. You only request an immediate right to sue letter when you are represented by counsel and have to exhaust your administrative remedies before filing suit.

I disagree that it is purely symbolic. The DFEH issues accusations and prosecutes cases before the Fair Employment & Housing Commission which can result in substantial fines and compensatory damages. It also litigates cases in superior court in those cases where the complainant and/or respondent opts out. You only request an immediate right to sue letter when you are represented by counsel and have to exhaust your administrative remedies before filing suit.

I don't disagree the administrative agencies are pretty lame, only a court process will get the employer's attention. All administrative remedies are limited and the agencies have little interest in pursuing a claim apart from minimal investigation. In many ways they cause more problems than they solve.

In theory you are correct,in practice an aggrieved employee is always better seeking an attorney.
JoeC

Sure, one or two DFEH cases per year make the news - these are the cases where the violations are so indisputable, blatant and egregious that the case basically proves itself. For the vast majority of employees, however, this is not the case, as "he said, she said" obstacles are almost inevitable in a typical discrimination / harassment claims.

Another reason the EEOC gets on some cases is, they ride along after they already found a no cause finding,and a private attorney later digs up the facts, then they opt in. Well thats big of them.
JoeC

DFEH investigation is a purely symbolic procedure. It almost never means anything and does nothing except satisfying the requirement of exhausting administrative remedies as required by law before filing a lawsuit. I never wait for investigation to complete as it does nothing, but instead request an immediate right to sue letter. The best part about it now is that you can get it right away online. You just fill out the form and print out the right to sue letter.

I agree with Endeavor that this is not purely symbolic and I think you should heed your own advice about giving bad advice (per your other post). :-D

First of all, I agree that it is unlikely that the DFEH or the EEOC will do anything given the statistics of cases that are filed vs. those that are actually investigated. However, what if they do investigate? Then the injured party gets the investigation done for FREE and the employer is investigated by a state/federal agency. You can still get a right-to-sue at the end and obtain the information that the relevant agency collected.

What's disturbing about the immediate right-to-sue is that the legal process for defending a claim of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, etc. is extremely daunting. Most people don't have the money to fight the big bad employers who have unlimited resources. Trying to explain a complex case during a free (or even a 1 hour paid) consultation is difficult, resulting in most attorneys not wanting to take on contingency. The end result? Most people give up and the employers win. The employers know this, too, which is why they act with reckless indifference. If you fire 5 people with disabilities, maybe only 1 will fight you, if that. You'll settle with them, but in the end, it still costs you less due to STD, medical costs, RTW consultants, etc.

My employer ( A BIG ONE ) acted so outrageously, I find it hard to believe they did it with a straight face. I am out of pocket over $14k, my ex-attorney screwed up the immediate right to sue (wrong dates, wrong complaints, no info provided to me) and every time I talk to an attorney, they say, "we're too busy for that type of case." I'm so disillusioned it isn't even funny.

It's good to have an attorney on board from the start, but I think ruling out the EEOC and DFEH right away is a huge mistake.

:o Did you ever submit a case to DFEH investigation? If you did, you would know that they have very little teeth and their investigation almost always concludes with "insufficient evidence for determination."
The only time when it's a good idea to let them investigate is when you are still employed, as generally it's not prudent to sue the organization you are still working for unless you are subjected to severe harassment.
The advice I submit is based not just on my opinion, but on filing and litigation numerous actions, participating in investigations and EEOC mediations.

Most employee-side lawyers work on contingency basis, which means that the employee or the terminated employee pays nothing upfront or a small retainer fee at the most. It's unfortunate that you fell into the hands of an attorney who is not only expensive but also doesn't know what he is doing.
The first sign of a bad attorney is the one who says "I do everything." Employment law is a very specialized area (substance and procedure wise) and must be handled by a professional who knows what he is doing.

Yes I have submitted a complaint to the DFEH and although it's unlikely that they will find cause, it was only then that I fully understood the importance of filing the right paperwork. My lawyer never said she could do everything, and how does an employee judge one attorney from the next and mine probably wasn't "bad", it's just that there's no motivation when paying hourly.

You say that most lawyers will take on a contingency basis or for small fee, but that's not true. Most will only put their resources at risk if you have a slam dunk case or alternately, this "small fee" you refer to amount to nothing more than them negotiating some type of severance package. The employer gets away with gross misconduct while the employee has gone through hell and is now out a job (or in my case, soon to be). I'm not sure how many employment cases you have fought, but the employer will exhaust an attorney's resources through endless paperwork. Not for enticing for any attorney, especially if the case is highly complex and open to interpretation!

Thelggirl, questions about YOUR situation should be in a thread that YOU start, not in someone else's thread, no matter how close in topic it might be.

cbg, there was no question in my post. I was only using my personal example to defend why an attorney telling a client to get an immediate right-to-sue wasn't always in their best interest. If the system fails us, then so be it, but it seems to me that an attorney will always have a motive to want a client to bypass their federal/state agencies.

I apologize if it came off as a post requiring a new thread, since that wasn't my intention.

The DFEH investigation is useful for people that cannot afford attorneys or don't want to have to pay 40% of their recovery to their attorney. Considering the DFEH only employs a handful of attorneys, it is remarkable that they can prosecute the number of cases they do. Not all cases make the news or are slam dunk. A majority of cases settle, as in private practice. They also have a very liberal standard for accepting complaints...even if there is doubt as to the validity or jurisdiction, they will accept the complaint and let the attorneys decide whether to pursue investigation. Remember that most of the DFEH employees, including the ones that interview and accept complaints, are not attorneys! So, yeah, there are bound to be cases that get in that shouldn't have and vice versa.

Dear All,

I have received an email from the lady who is charge of my case at DFEH, she said to me "the investigation did not provide sufficient evidence to establish that there’s a violation of Fair Employment and Housing Act" y she said that I have to persuade to the witnesses I provided in order they talk to her?????
QUESTION: According the FEHA website, quote: "DFEH has the authority to issue subpoenas and interrogatories and to take depositions." In order words, if the witnesses refuse to talk to her, she can use the DFEH authority to issue subpoenas, I cannot push them to talk to her. In fact, I understand them because they feel fear to lose their jobs. But what is worst for me is the fact that my ex-employer does not have any single letter or warning about anything about me, instead I had salary increased every year, paid tuition, verbal congratulation, but as soon I claimed discrimination, he fired me by mail without reason state in his discharge letter. So, the common sense, what I expected by DFEH is that they get from my ex-employer a response about why he fired me.

I am really disappointment, according to her, I have 14 days to give her more relevant information or other witnesses or my case will be recommended for closure.

I am sure right now that DFEH does not investigate at all, they only gather some information, the ones are easy to do, but they do not make a real effort to do real investigation. :(

Please comments!!!!!!

Contact an attorney.
JoeC

I know I wrote this before, but I will repeat this again:

DFEH is overworked and understaffed (as you would expect), and most of their investigations are merely a symbolic interim step, called exhausting an administrative remedy, that an employee must go through before he/she can file a civil action against the employer. If you have strong claims, it's not worth waiting for an investigation that is almost always inconclusive to complete. Instead, you can request an immediate right to sue letter online which is quick and convenient.

Thanks.

Finally, I received a Right to Sue Letter from DFEHA and from EEOC, in the first one the say that I have one year to file a lawsuit, on the second one the said that I have 90 days to file a lawsuit for Title IV and 2 year for file on Equal Pay Act. I have several questions: 1.- Any suggestion about a Lawyer in the Bay Area 2.- How will be the cost with the lawyer. I mean, even I have a job right now, I was affected, financially speaking, with the fact that no job for a while, unemployment insurance denied, and this crisis, so I am dealing with some debts. So it's possible to find a free consultation? and then how the rest can be handle. 3.- Any advice on how is the process when you file a lawsuit. On the other hand, let me share with you that along with my complaint I did to FEHA on January 2007, I did a Wage Claim, so after more than 11 months I went to find out what was going on, and guess what? They told me that for "some inexplicable" reasons the complaint did not go through so they told me please file again??? That’s crazy :( what happen with those Departments
Thanks in advance for your response,
Carlos

Hello, Carlos.

First you didn't have to wait for your right to sue letter, as it can be obtained by an attorney online in about 5 minutes. But... it doesn't really matter right now. You have it and that's what counts.

Since the preference is to file in State Court rather than federal for a number of reason, the statute you need to keep track of it one year from the date of receipt of the DFEH Right to Sue letter.

Most attorneys accept strong cases with solid evidence and significant damages on a contingency basis. If the case is not solid or the evidence is disputed, a small retainer might be needed.



Thanks,

Arkady Itkin
http://www.sanfranciscoemploymentlawfirm.com