Everything You Need to Know About Discrimination Complaint Letters
Discrimination is unfair treatment based on a protected class, such as age, sex, race, and religion. The effects of discrimination reach far and wide and can hurt an individual’s mental/physical health, productivity, and more.
But how common is discrimination in the workplace? According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employees reported 68,000 cases of workplace discrimination in 2020 alone.
If you are a victim or witness of discrimination, this article will explain what qualifies as discrimination, the steps you need to follow to file a complaint with EEOC, and how to draft a formal discrimination complaint letter. We’ll also introduce you to a safe and anonymous way to report your grievances through DoNotPay.
What Qualifies as a Discrimination Claim?
It is illegal to discriminate against someone based on a protected class. For example, some of the most common protected classes include:
- Race
- Religion
- Sex
- Pregnancy
- Gender Identity
- Sexual Orientation
- Disability
- Age
- Skin Complexion
- Pregnancy and Maternity
- Marriage
If you’re being treated unfairly because of the reasons mentioned above, you can file a workplace harassment complaint or discrimination claim.
How You Can Proceed To File A Discrimination Complaint
In most cases, you should report cases of discrimination with Human Resources first before escalating the case to a state or federal agency. To do so, read through your Employee Handbook to see how you can move forward with filing a discrimination complaint. However, if you work for a company that does not have a HR department, you can raise your concerns directly with your manager or boss.
If your HR department refuses to listen to you, you can also file your complaint through government channels like the ones listed below:
| Communication channel | Where to send your complaint |
| OCRComplaint@hhs.gov | |
| Centralized Case Management Operations
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Room 509F HHH Bldg. Washington, D.C. 20201 |
|
| Online Portal | OCR Online Portal |
| Civil Rights Discrimination Complaint Form Package | Civil Rights Discrimination Complaint Form Package
Either print and mail them by post or simply send them as an email attachment. |
Sample Discrimination Complaint Letter
Here is an example that you can use to draft your discrimination complaint letter.
May 28, 2021
Natalie Lee Marketing Associate
Zoe Hiles Human Resources Manager
Re: Formal Complaint Against Daniel Brown For Discrimination
Dear Ms. Hiles:
My name is Natalie Lee and I have been working at the firm since May 2020. I am writing this letter to file a formal complaint against my manager, David Brown, with whom I have been working with for two months since March 2021.
On May 26, David said in a meeting that “Zoe will never become a manager because we don’t promote lesbians here”. This homophobic comment was also heard by William Wang from Sales Department and Kate White from Finance Department. Please find attached witness statements.
This is a blatant case of discrimination and has significantly undermined both my productivity and my mental health. Therefore, I am asking for your help in resolving this issue. I hope that we can meet as soon as possible to move this case forward.
Yours sincerely,
Zoe Hiles
Marketing Associate
File a Discrimination Complaint Through DoNotPay
Though filing a discrimination complaint is extremely important in maintaining a healthy work environment, it can have drawbacks, including potential retaliation from your employer. Fortunately, there’s a way for you to submit HR complaints anonymously. By using DoNotPay, you can deal with complex HR issues through a streamlined process that guarantees anonymity. All you need to do is:
- Access DoNotPay and search for the Anonymous HR Complaint product.
- Provide your employer’s name and the HR department’s mailing address.
- Explain your experiences with discrimination and state your desired resolution.
That’s it! After that DoNotPay will deliver your anonymous discrimination complaint on your behalf.
What Else Can DoNotPay Do?
Have another grievance about work? DoNotPay can also help you with filing:
- Employee incident report
- Workplace harassment complaint letter
- Complaint letter about a manager
- Formal complaint letter about a coworker
And DoNotPay doesn’t just help you get justice for a discrimination case in your workplace. Tired of getting robocalls asking for your payment information? Get revenge and put an end to the spam with Robo Revenge! Register on the National Do Not Call list while you are at it!
Get help on all of your customer service issues, legal complaints, and more with DoNotPay!