EEOC Charges: Why Your Filing Date Matters More Than You Think.

Before you file an EEOC charge of discrimination, know the deadline that can end your case before it starts. Employment lawyer Roland Mumford walks through the EEOC complaint process step by step. Lilly Ledbetter won a jury verdict against Goodyear. Then the Supreme Court took it away, 5 to 4. Not because she was paid fairly, but because she filed too late. In this video: Why you must file an EEOC charge before you can sue An online inquiry or intake questionnaire is NOT the same as a charge Fort Bend County v. Davis: one handwritten word that went to the Supreme Court 180 days or 300 days: Tennessee, Arkansas and Georgia, and how to check your state Tennessee's 2025 change: the Tennessee Human Rights Commission no longer exists The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act: every paycheck restarts the clock Mediation, the position statement and the EEOC investigation process The right to sue letter and the 90-day deadline to sue CHAPTERS 0:00 Lilly Ledbetter won, then lost it all 2:39 Who I am 3:33 Part One: You must file a charge first 4:08 The intake questionnaire is not a charge 6:47 Holowecki: when a questionnaire counts 10:19 Fort Bend v. Davis: one handwritten word 12:29 Part Two: 180 or 300 days 12:55 Tennessee, Arkansas and Georgia deadlines 14:55 Morgan: when the clock starts 17:07 Ledbetter and the Fair Pay Act 17:53 Part Three: After you file 21:24 The investigation and the 2.5% number 22:53 Your right-to-sue letter 23:23 The 90-day deadline to sue 23:38 Filing a charge is protected 24:02 Bringing it all back SOURCES Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 550 U.S. 618 (2007) Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111-2 National Railroad Passenger Corp. v. Morgan, 536 U.S. 101 (2002) Fort Bend County v. Davis, 587 U.S. 541 (2019) Federal Express Corp. v. Holowecki, 552 U.S. 389 (2008) 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5 (Title VII charge filing, 180/300 days, 90 days to sue) 29 C.F.R. §§ 1601.28, 1614.105 Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 4-21-204(e), 4-21-311(d); 2025 Tenn. Pub. Ch. 471 EEOC, How to File a Charge of Employment Discrimination: https://www.eeoc.gov/how-file-charge-... EEOC, Time Limits for Filing a Charge: https://www.eeoc.gov/time-limits-fili... EEOC Form 5 (charge), Form 290A (intake), Form 161-B (right to sue): eeoc.gov EEOC Enforcement and Litigation Statistics, FY 2025: https://www.eeoc.gov/data/enforcement... WATCH NEXT Who Is "Similarly Situated" at Work? How Courts Decide Discrimination Cases:    • Who Is “Similarly Situated” at Work? How C...   MAIN CHANNEL MUMFORD LAW, where I break down police encounters that go wrong:    / @mumfordlaw   SECOND CHANNEL Mumford Law: Off The Record, where I go deeper on these cases:    / @mumfordlawofftherecord   NEED A LAWYER IN YOUR STATE? I only practice in Tennessee, Arkansas and Georgia, and I cannot take cases or give referrals anywhere else. To find an employment lawyer in your state, use the National Employment Lawyers Association's Find a Lawyer directory at https://www.nela.org/ For police misconduct and other civil rights (Section 1983) cases, use the National Police Accountability Project's directory: https://nationalpoliceaccountability.... You can also search "employment lawyer" or "Section 1983 lawyer" and your state. MUMFORD LAW Roland Mumford, civil rights and employment lawyer Law Office of Roland Mumford 242 West Main Street, No. 223, Hendersonville, TN 37075 https://mumford.law Facebook: Law Office of Roland Mumford #EEOC #EEOCComplaint #EmploymentDiscrimination #EmploymentLawyer #EmployeeRights FAIR USE NOTICE This video may contain copyrighted material; the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available for the purposes of criticism, comment, review and news reporting which constitute the fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work for purposes such as criticism, comment, review and news reporting is not an infringement of copyright. NOTE: We don't condone threats or violence of any kind. If you are upset or outraged by acts of government misconduct featured in this video, we encourage you to utilize lawful means of expression, including becoming involved in the political process, as well as seeking accountability through the judicial system. NOTE ALSO: The information you obtain here is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. We invite you to contact us and welcome your letters and electronic mail, or other submissions or messages. However, contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship is established and documented in a written agreement.