What does the law say about employment discrimination? How do you know if you have a case in New Hampshire? How long do you have to file a claim? Find these answers and more in this detailed review of New Hampshire's employment discrimination laws.
Frequently asked questions about employment discrimination in New Hampshire.
1. What kinds of employment discrimination are against the law in New Hampshire?
New Hampshire employees are entitled to protections against unfair discrimination under the patchwork quilt of combined Federal and New Hampshire state laws. These laws combine to provide many employees with protection against discrimination in the workplace on the basis of age, race, religion, sex, gender expression and identity, national origin, disability, military status, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, genetic information and pregnancy.
The state and federal laws against discrimination are not identical. This means the type and extent of available protections can vary under the law. For example, the New Hampshire discrimination law is applicable to employers with as few as 6 employees, but federal protections only apply to employers with over 20 employees. Therefore, if you are a New Hampshire employee, employed by an employer with ten employees, you may have protection under the state discrimination law, but not under the federal law. Another example is found in what protections the two laws offer. New Hampshire law offers protection for marital status, while the federal law does not. The time limit for bringing these types of claims also varies under state and federal law and you may have as few as 180 days from the date of discrimination to file a claim.
Therefore, if you think you have been subjected to discrimination at work, it is important to speak with an employment lawyer right away to find out what, if any, protections and remedies are available to you and what you must do to file a charge.
2. Are there time limits for bringing an employment discrimination claim in New Hampshire?
If you are in a protected class covered by state and or federal anti-discrimination law, there are time limits for filing these types of claims. These time limits are often shorter than most NH state civil claims, and they can vary by type of claim and by whether you are seeking protection under state or federal law.
For example, New Hampshire’s law against discrimination (RSA 354-A et seq.) has a shorter time limit, also referred to as a statute of limitation, within which you must file your claim, as compared to the federal discrimination protections under Title VII.
Under RSA 354-A a covered employee typically has only 180 days following the discrimination within which to file under N.H. state law. By comparison, under Title VII of the federal law, the time limit is typically longer, allowing for 300 days from the date of discrimination to file a charge.
While it’s important to file within these time frames, there are exceptions to these time limits in some instances, which could extend the time limit for filing a claim. For example, the time limit for a state or federal claim for discrimination might be extended beyond the prescribed 180 or 300 days, if an employee can show they have been subjected to ongoing discrimination, on a continuing basis, as defined under the law. In addition, an employee may be able to bring a claim after 180 days, if there is a federal law comparable to the state law under which protection is sought. This is because where both federal law and a state agency enforce a law that prohibits employment discrimination, then the deadline for filing a charge may be extended to 300 days.
CAUTION:
These time limits are short, the exceptions are not automatic, and where there are exceptions, they only apply to some situations. Failure to file within the proper time period could result in being denied the right to bring a claim and denial of protection, remedy or payment for your damages.
Therefore, it’s vital you contact an experienced employment lawyer, the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights (NHCHR) or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) immediately if you think you have been treated unfairly based upon one of these protected categories.
Most law offices will offer a free phone evaluation to help you assess whether you have rights and protections available to you for unfair, discriminatory, harassing, or retaliatory treatment at work. An employment attorney can help you describe what happened to you, file your claim, and assist you to pursue your rights in court, if necessary, so that you can obtain recovery for your damages, including lost wages and emotional distress. You can also bring a claim on your own, by contacting the EEOC or the NHCHR directly.
Whether you plan to hire an attorney or bring your claim on your own, you should be very careful to track your time limits. If the 180-day state law deadline or the 300-day federal deadlines are close to expiring, then do not delay in contacting the NHCHR or EEOC to file a claim right away. The agency personnel at the NHCHR or the EEOC will help you to draft the discrimination charge so you can sign it before a notary and get it back to the agency before the 180 or 300-day deadline date. You can always retain your own lawyer later, after you file your charge.
3. How do I file an employment discrimination charge in New Hampshire?
Employees who believe they have been discriminated against in the workplace or subjected to unfair treatment in some aspect of their employment such as hiring, promotion, or pay and those who have been subjected to illegal harassment or retaliation, can file a claim either with the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights (NHCHR), which is our state administrative agency located in Concord, or with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which is the federal administrative agency responsible for processing these types of claims. For New Hampshire claims this office is located in Boston, Massachusetts.
The two agencies have what is called a “work-sharing agreement,” which means that the agencies cooperate with each other to process claims. This is helpful as many times employees have a combination of state and federal claims as a result of discrimination, and this makes it unnecessary to file a claim with both agencies, as long as you indicate to either of the agencies that you want it to “cross-file” your claim with the other agency.
Many people choose to file their claim with the NHCHR first, as the state agency, located in Concord is more local and because it's empowered to assist with the filing of charges and conducting investigations into claims involving allegations of violation under both state and federal law. This means as long as you make your intention to “cross-file” clear, you can file all your state and federal claims through the state agency.
In addition, because New Hampshire law covers categories presently not covered by federal law, such as marital status and covers employers with as few as six employees, there may be advantages to filing in NH first, depending on your circumstances. The NHCHR also has a robust mediation program, which sometime can help resolve disputes faster without the need to go to court.
4. What happens after I file a discrimination charge with the EEOC?
When your charge is filed, the EEOC will give you a copy of your charge, which will include a charge number, used to identify your claim. Within 10 days, the EEOC will also send a notice and a copy of the charge to the employer. At that point, the EEOC may decide to do one of the following:
Ask both you and the employer to take part in a mediation program;
Ask the employer to provide a written answer to your charge and answer questions related to your claim, then your charge will be given to an investigator;
Dismiss the claim if your charge was not filed in time or if the EEOC does not have jurisdiction.
If the EEOC decides to investigate your charge, they may interview witnesses and gather documents. Once the investigation is complete, the EEOC will let you and the employer know the result. If they decide that discrimination did not occur, then they will send you a “Notice of Right to Sue.” This notice gives you permission to file a lawsuit in a court of law. If the EEOC determines that discrimination occurred, then they will try to reach a voluntary settlement with the employer. If a settlement cannot be reached, your case will be referred to the EEOC’s legal staff (or the Department of Justice in certain cases), who will decide whether or not the agency should file a lawsuit. If the EEOC decides not to file a lawsuit, then they will give you a “Notice of Right to Sue.”
How long the investigation takes depends on a lot of different things, including the amount of information that needs to be gathered and analyzed. On average, it takes the EEOC nearly six months to investigate a charge. A charge is often able to settle faster through mediation (usually in less than three months).
5. How can I or my attorney pursue a claim in court in New Hampshire?
Presently, once you file at the NHCHR, you have the right to take your case out of the agency and into court after 180 days following your initial NHCHR filing (and earlier with permission). However, you must file that lawsuit within three years of the discrimination. If you have decided to leave your case in the agency and its investigation results in a probable determination, the executive director will issue an order of notice scheduling a public hearing.
The New Hampshire Commission of Human Rights will make another attempt to resolve the claim before the public hearing, but if the matter cannot be resolved, either party can decide to take the case to court.
If, following a probable cause determination, you prefer to leave your case at the NHCHR and the employer does not take the case to court, then you will have an administrative hearing before three of the seven commissioners at which evidence is presented through witness testimony and documentation. The NHCHR Commissioners have the same power as a court to award back pay, front pay, reinstatement, attorney fees, and compensatory damages. They can also issue a fine against the employer but lack the power of a court to award "enhanced compensatory damages", which are awardable under New Hampshire law for willful or reckless behavior.
6. What happens if I receive a finding of "No Probable Cause"?
If there is no finding of probable cause under state law, your state law claim is "dead" unless you successfully appeal that determination. However, even if your state claim is "dead", you may still pursue your federal claim in court, because the EEOC process does not take away your right to start fresh ("de novo") in court under federal law.
To move forward after a finding of no probable cause, you or your lawyer would request a "Right to Sue" letter from the EEOC, if it did not already issue one to you upon the NHCHR issuing the NPC. At that point, you have 90 days from the date you receive that "Right to Sue" letter in which to file your federal claims. (Be sure to mark down the date when you receive it to provide proof of when the 90 days is up.)
If you have received one of these agency letters, contact an attorney immediately. Additionally, when you first connect with the law office, be sure you say at the beginning of the call that you have a Right to Sue letter from the EEOC and when the 90 days runs out. That way, the law office can schedule a prompt consultation or, if they are not available promptly, you won't lose time before contacting a different law firm.
Remember, if your lawsuit is not filed by the "Right to Sue Letter" deadline, then you will most likely lose your ability to pursue a discrimination case.
This 90 days from the date you receive your "Right To Sue letter" deadline (as is the three year deadline for state law court claims) is called the “statute of limitations.”
7. Can I settle my case without a hearing or trial?
Many cases are resolved at the NHCHR before the investigation is completed and before a PC or NPC is issued. Such "settlements" will be documented in writing signed by both parties in which you will give up your legal rights in return for the resolution agreed to by you and the employer, which usually includes, at minimum, a monetary payment, but which can also include an apology, reinstatement, cleansing of a personnel file, implementation of anti-discrimination trainings in the workplace, and/or other actions the parties agree to.
Sometimes settlements are reached by means of a “mediation”, which is a formal opportunity for the parties to meet with each other in the presence of a mediator, so that they can try to resolve their dispute. If either party has engaged an attorney to help with the claim, that attorney will also be present at mediation. The NHCRH can assist in arranging for a mediator and in finding a time and place to hold the mediation.
MORE INFORMATION
If you are in need of an employment discrimination attorney in New Hampshire, contact Anne M. Rice, Esquire, experienced NH employment attorney.
For additional resources regarding employment laws and protection visit our Employment Law section in our blog resource page.
For a FREE case evaluation by phone contact Rice Law Office PLLC 603-528-5299
To file a claim with the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights (NHCHR) contact its office in concord:
New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights
2 Industrial Park Drive, Bldg. One
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 603-271-2767
Fax: 603-271-6339
TTY: 1-800-735-2964
Website: http://www.state.nh.us/hrc/
E-mail: humanrights@nhsa.state.nh.us
To contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) you can contact the Boston office by calling, emailing or writing to:
EEOC — Boston Area Office
JFK Federal Building
15 New Sudbury Street, Room 475
Boston, MA 02203-0506
Phone: 1-800-669-4000
Fax: 1-617-565-3196
TTY: 1-800-669-6820