7 – Filing Complaints and Comments
Civil rights laws and regulations as well as consumer protection laws are in place to help consumers when something goes wrong. This is a complaint-driven system: local police do not seek out violators of these laws, throw anyone in jail or even ticket offenders. Enforcement depends on consumers willing to complain when they see a violation of the law.
With that said, filing a formal complaint or considering litigation should not be the first step a consumer considers. Consumers who believe there has been a violation of the law whether related to the workplace, access to a public place or an airline, or dispensing of their hearing aids, should take some important steps first.
For Employment Complaints:
- Employees should keep copies of all supporting documentation. If he/she is a long-time employee facing discriminatory actions, they should make sure to have copies of all past evaluations, citations or other written material that attests to the kind of worker they are. They should keep emails, notes, letters and other job related correspondence, and records of the projects they have worked on to show how successful they have been. They are more likely to prove their case if they have documentation that supports their contentions.
- Employees should keep a diary of any and all forms of harassment.
- They should document any time they thought they were passed over for a promotion, and their basis for their perceptions.
- They should talk to trusted co-workers to confirm their analysis of the situation, and find out if others similarly situated were also harassed or passed over for promotions. They should find out what company policy states and whether it is habitually ignored or if perceived discrimination is the action of one individual.
- Employees should do their homework by finding out what the procedure is for complaints in their company, and follow that procedure. They should see what they can do to negotiate a satisfactory outcome before filing a formal complaint with the EEOC Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or going to court.
- If all else fails, they should file a complaint with the EEOC or hire an attorney for advice.
For Other Complaints:
- The consumer should attempt to negotiate a satisfactory ending on their own. Sometimes the other party simply did not know how to provide the needed accommodation.
- If the consumer was not able to resolve the problem on their own, they should do the best they can to document their experience in as great detail as possible. Taking notes as the event is happening will help this process.
- Oversight bodies usually have established complaint procedures. They should investigate which is/are the appropriate agency/s and the rules for filing a complaint with them.
- File a complaint with the appropriate agency as soon as possible after the incident. Often oversight bodies have deadlines for filing complaints. Check each agency to find out what that time limit is.