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.

Retaliation

December 8, 2003

Dear :

This is in response to your letter dated October 21, 2003, which was received in the Office of Legal Counsel of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Commission) on December 1, 2003. You are alleging that you were retaliated against after you filed charges with the Commission and requested intervention by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). You are now requesting assistance.

The Commission enforces federal laws which prohibit employment discrimination on the bases of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, and retaliation. Please note that the Commission only handles charges of employment discrimination. The organization that you are alleging has retaliated against you is the and you mention violation of patients' rights. It is unclear whether you are an employee or patient at the . To file a charge with the Commission, you must be an employee of the .

If you are an employee of the , it is also unclear from your letter whether you have a current charge pending with the Commission. If you have a pending charge, please inform the investigator in your case of the additional allegations of retaliation. If your charge has been closed, you will need to file another charge with the Commission. You may call 1-800-669-4000 for the nearest EEOC field office. You may also visit www.eeoc.gov for additional information.

If you are a patient at the and want to report alleged abuse, please contact the following two organizations:

U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
Office of the Americans with Disabilities Act
P.O. Box 66118
Washington, D.C. 20035-6118
Telephone: (202) 514-0301

Illinois Protection and Advocacy Agency
Equip for Equality, Inc.
20 North Michigan Ave., Suite 300
Chicago, IL 60602
Telephone: 312-341-0022
Fax: 312-341-0295
Toll-free: 800-537-2632
Internet: www.equipforequality.org

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.