"I was discriminated against today! What should I do first?"

If someone discriminated against you at work today, there are several steps you might take. The first step you should take is to consult with an employee rights attorney. Such consultations are confidential and may be free of charge depending on the attorney's practice. None of the information that follows should be relied upon without speaking about your case in person with such an attorney. After experiencing discrimination, you should also immediately consider documenting the discriminatory incident to preserve your recollection of what happened. Be sure to note the names of any individuals involved and witnesses to this discrimination.

You should also consider notifying your manager or a company human resources office of the discrimination to give the company any opportunity to resolve the problem. An employer may argue that a failure to complain of the wrongdoing at the time it occurred prevented the employer from knowing about it and doing anything to stop it. Further, the employer may argue that your failure to complain at the time the discrimination took place proves there was no discrimination.

You should also stay mindful of your time limit to raise a claim of discrimination in court. In most cases, you have one year from the date that the discriminatory act took place within which you can initiate a discrimination case. Before suing for discrimination in a California superior court, you must generally make a complaint of discrimination with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), a government agency charged with investigating claims of discrimination. The DFEH may investigate your claim of discrimination. If you are an employee of the State or federal government, you should make a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency charged with investigating complaints of discrimination. You have only 90 days in most instances to make such a complaint to the EEOC. I recommend you hire an attorney to prepare yoru complaint to the DFEH or EEOC. Whether you file your complaint with the DFEH or the EEOC, the agency will eventually provide you with written notice of your right to sue the company where the discrimination took place. Only after receiving such a notice can you raises most discrimination claims in a California superior or federal court. Once you receive the notice, you have a limited period of time to file your discrimination lawsuit in court. The EEOC generally provides 6 months to sue, while the DFEH grants a full year.