EEOC Informal Discussion Letter

EEOC Office of Legal Counsel staff members wrote the following informal discussion letter in response to an inquiry from a member of the public. This letter is intended to provide an informal discussion of the noted issue and does not constitute an official opinion of the Commission.

Title VII : Other

April 13, 2000

Dear

This is in response to your letter of February 25, 2000, which was forwarded to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for a response. You stated that your former employer terminated you after learning that you sent your resume to another company. You also allege that your former employer told you that the other company "was very interested [ in you] until I told him what I had to say."

The Commission enforces federal anti-discrimination laws which prohibit employment discrimination on the bases of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age and disability. It is unclear from your letter whether you were discriminated against on any of these bases. Based upon the facts as presented in your letter, it appears that you were terminated because you applied for employment with another company. You stated that your former employer admitted that he terminated you because "he needed a long term employee." If this is the case, the termination is not illegal under the laws that we enforce. If you believe that you have been discriminated against, you may file a charge with the EEOC. You may call 1-800-669-4000 to locate the EEOC field office nearest to you. You may also contact the EEOC's website at www.eeoc.gov for additional information.

You may also contact the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to determine if your termination violates any of the laws enforced by DOL. DOL's website is located at www.dol.gov. DOL's Regional Office for North Carolina is located at:

Atlanta Federal Center

61 Forsyth St. SW., Suite 6875

Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Telephone Number: (404) 562-2080

We hope that this information is helpful to you. Please note, however, that this letter does not constitute an opinion or interpretation of the Commission within the meaning of § 713(b) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000e-12(b).

Sincerely,

Dianna B. Johnston
Assistant Legal Counsel

This page was last modified on April 27, 2007.