CRD Complaint (formerly a DFEH Complaint) – 5 Steps to Bringing a Successful One

If you have been the victim of workplace discrimination or harassment in California, you can file a complaint with the Civil Rights Department (CRD). This office was formerly known as the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).

5 key steps to take to file a successful CRD complaint are:

1. Get a Lawyer,
2. Gather Evidence,
3. File a Complaint,
4. Cooperate with Investigation, and
5. Negotiate or Sue

1. Get a Lawyer

The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) is a civil rights law that forbids unlawful harassment, discrimination, and retaliation in the workplace. An experienced labor law attorney can help you determine if your case falls under FEHA protections.

For example, the FEHA only covers the following employers:

• those that regularly employ 5 or more people,
• those that act as an agent of a covered employer, and
• public entities, like the State of California or a city or county government.¹

However, this does not include:

• religious associations,
• religious nonprofits, or
• the federal government or many of its contractors.²

Additionally, you have only 3 years from the date of the unlawful activity to file your CRD complaint.³ If you wait longer than that to file your complaint, it will be thrown out, so be sure to retain a lawyer as soon as possible.

While all this is going on, consider seeking help from a therapist. Taking on your boss is incredibly stressful and daunting, and a mental health specialist may provide tools to ride out this process.

2. Gather Evidence

If you have a valid claim, the next step is to gather evidence that supports it. For example, if you are filing a claim of workplace discrimination, pertinent evidence may be:

• proof that you are in a protected class, which covers distinct traits like:
  • marital status,
  • medical conditions,
  • gender identity,
  • gender expression,
  • sexual orientation, and
  • national origin;
• documentation of workplace bullying for being in that class,
• a written refusal to provide a reasonable accommodation for your protected trait,
• testimony from other workers who are or were similarly situated,
• pay stubs that show reductions in your pay,
• documentary or testimonial evidence that you were excluded from decision-making opportunities or meetings, and/or
• performance reviews that show sudden and drastic changes in them.

However, if your CRD complaint would be for retaliation, some types of relevant evidence would be:

• details about the activity which triggered the retaliation that show it was a legally protected activity,
• documentation or testimony that shows that you have suffered an adverse employment action (such as firing, demotion, harassment, or discrimination), and
• indications that suggest that the setback is connected to your activities, such as a close temporal proximity or explicit statements by supervisors.

3. File a Complaint

The CRD – a state agency – may not be the only place to file your complaint. You may also be able to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) – a federal agency.

The CRD accepts complaints that allege the following violations of the FEHA:

• retaliation,
• harassment, including sexual harassment, or
• discrimination.⁴

Meanwhile, the EEOC accepts claims alleging violations of Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Title VII and the FEHA mirror each other closely, but there are some differences. For example, FEHA does not cap financial compensation for your emotional distress, while Title VII does. If conduct seems to violate both state and federal laws, it is often better to advance under California’s FEHA.⁵

You may be anxious to bring a traditional lawsuit, but state or federal court typically requires you to exhaust your administrative remedies first. This means going through the CRD or EEOC claims process and obtaining a right to sue letter.

4. Cooperate with Investigation

The filing of a CRD complaint, also referred to as a pre-complaint inquiry, triggers an investigation. At this point, you are the “complainant.”

You will be contacted by an investigator soon after the complaint has been filed. An intake hearing will take place. During that interview, which typically happens over the phone, you will be asked questions about what happened.⁶

If the investigator thinks that there is a valid claim, they will provide you a complaint form. This is a description of the events that took place that you are claiming were unlawful. If the description is accurate, you can sign and return it to the CRD.⁷

The signed complaint form is then served on your employer. They then become the “respondent” and will have 30 days to respond to it.⁸

5. Negotiate or Sue

While the CRD investigates your claim, you and your employer may negotiate a resolution. If you go through CRD’s free mediation process, the investigation process will pause while talks are ongoing.

Most CRD complaints are resolved through mediation or negotiation. Often the employer agrees to pay monetary damages and/or remedy any workplace violations.

If the investigation closes and the case has not already been mutually resolved, CRD will release a report of its findings. The CRD can also:

• decide that there was no violation of the law, close the case, and issue you a right to sue letter,
• decide that the case has merit and represent you against your employer in court, or
• decide that case has merit but also to not intervene in it, and issue you a right to sue letter.

The right to sue letter allows you to file a lawsuit in court. You can seek such damages as:

• back pay plus interest,
• reinstatement to your job,
• pain and suffering,
• attorney’s fees, and
• possibly punitive damages.

Victims of workplace discrimination can file a complaint with the Civil Rights Department (formerly DFEH).

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to the following scholarly articles:

• Employment Discrimination and Wrongful Discharge: Does the California Fair Employment and Housing Act Displace Common Law Remedies – University of San Francisco Law Review.
• Working 9 to Non-Stop: The Fair Housing Act’s Sexual Harassment Protections for Domestic, Agricultural, and Other Live-in Workers – Columbia Journal of Gender & Law.
• Romano v. Rockwell International: A Study in Undermining Federal Authority, Statutory Clarity, and the Function of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing in the Fight against Employment Discrimination – UC Davis Law Review.
• California Employment Discrimination Law and its Enforcement: The Fair Employment and Housing Act at 50 – UCLA Law Center for Law and Public Policy.

Legal References