Chapter 28 - § 28.3 • CHARGES OF DISCRIMINATION

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 28.3 • CHARGES OF DISCRIMINATION

§ 28.3.1—Initial Contacts And Filing The Charge

When bringing claims for discrimination under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, a charge of discrimination must be filed with the Colorado Civil Rights Division (CCRD) within six months of the occurrence of the adverse discriminatory act. Potential claimants may go to the CCRD by themselves or use the assistance of an attorney. Intake packets to start the charge process are available online at www.colorado.gov/pacific/dora/civil-rights/filing-a-charge; the CCRD is generally requesting that parties complete the intake packets. The CCRD has developed a step-by-step user guide to orient parties about the intake packet. Appointments are recommended, and claimants should call and schedule an appointment well before the time limit. Upon completion of the intake packet, the CCRD will translate the information submitted in the packet into a charge of discrimination. Attorneys should assist clients with preparing the intake packet, in particular the "Statement of Discrimination." Attorneys should review and suggest edits of the charges to the CCRD. The charge is signed by the charging party, and a copy of the charge and affidavit, if requested, will be given to the charging party. Attorneys who continue to represent claimants at the CCRD should complete and deliver a written entry of appearance. There is no fee by the CCRD to process a discrimination charge.

The CCRD will make special arrangements to process a charge if the six-month deadline is imminent. The CCRD searches for economic loss damages incurred due to an adverse employment action.

To preserve a claim under many federal civil rights statutes, a charge of discrimination must be filed with the EEOC within 300 days of the adverse discriminatory act. When filing a charge at the EEOC, you can either do so in person or through the EEOC's Public Portal.

The EEOC Public Portal is the EEOC's online case management tool where all of the case documents, e.g., the charge, position statement, communications with the investigator, and the rebuttal are kept and accessed by both parties and the investigator. Individuals wanting to file a charge or schedule an appointment with an EEOC intake officer may also use the EEOC portal to accomplish those tasks. The EEOC Public Portal web address is https://publicportal.eeoc.gov/Portal/Login.aspx.

In order to file a charge on the portal or to access the file for a charge filed in person, the attorney or the individual will need to set up a password protected account on the EEOC Public Portal. Attorneys should create an EEOC Public Portal account that is separate from their clients' accounts. Once the account has been created, the owner of that account should be able to see and access all of the EEOC charge files, organized by charge number, with which that person is associated or involved.

Practice Pointer
An EEOC charge can still be filed in person at an EEOC field office. If you decide to file the charge in person and you do not see the charge show up in your portal account, you will need to follow up with the EEOC field office with whom you filed the charge to make sure you get access to the case documents.

After the charge is filed, it will have its own case management page where the parties can upload documents and check on the status of the case. The portal will provide the name and email address of the assigned...