Employment Discrimination & EEOC Claims

Brooks Law Firm represents Memphis-area employees in EEOC charges and Title VII lawsuits involving hiring, firing, promotion, and harassment based on race, sex, age, disability, pregnancy, religion, and national origin — under Title VII, ADEA, ADA, EPA, PWFA, § 1981, and the Tennessee Human Rights Act.

If you have been fired, denied a promotion, refused a job, or subjected to a hostile work environment because of your race, sex, age, disability, religion, national origin, or pregnancy, federal and Tennessee law give you rights — but those rights come with short, unforgiving deadlines. Brooks Law Firm represents employees in Memphis and across West Tennessee in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charges and in federal and state court lawsuits under Title VII and related civil rights laws. Call (901) 324-5000 for a confidential consultation.

We Represent Employees — Not Employers

Our employment discrimination practice is devoted exclusively to representing workers. When we take a case, our client is the employee whose livelihood, reputation, or career has been harmed by unlawful conduct at work. We do not simultaneously represent businesses in defending against discrimination claims, and we do not take cases that would put us in a position of conflict with other employee-clients. That undivided focus matters — employment litigation is resource-intensive, and employers are typically represented by well-funded defense firms. Our job is to make sure the employee on the other side of that equation is represented with the same level of seriousness.

What Federal and Tennessee Law Prohibit

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Title VII, codified at 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., makes it unlawful for any covered employer to discriminate against an employee or applicant because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. “Sex” under Title VII has been interpreted by the Supreme Court in Bostock v. Clayton County, 590 U.S. 644 (2020), to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The statute covers private employers with 15 or more employees, state and local governments, labor unions, and employment agencies.

Title VII reaches every material term and condition of employment — not just firing. It prohibits discrimination in:

  • Hiring — refusing to hire a qualified applicant because of a protected characteristic
  • Firing, layoff, and discharge — including constructive discharge, where working conditions are made so intolerable that a reasonable employee would feel forced to quit
  • Promotion and advancement — passing over qualified employees, setting unequal standards, or denying access to training and development opportunities
  • Compensation, benefits, and assignments — unequal pay, denial of overtime opportunities, less desirable shift or territory assignments
  • Discipline — harsher discipline for the same conduct than is applied to employees outside the protected class
  • Terms, conditions, and privileges of employment — which includes hostile work environment and harassment

Section 1981 — Race Discrimination in Contracts

42 U.S.C. § 1981 independently prohibits race discrimination in the making and enforcement of contracts, including employment contracts. Section 1981 claims have significant procedural advantages: there is no EEOC charge requirement, the statute of limitations is generally four years under Jones v. R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., 541 U.S. 369 (2004), and there is no cap on compensatory or punitive damages. We routinely plead § 1981 alongside Title VII in race discrimination cases.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)

The ADEA, codified at 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq., protects workers aged 40 and older from discrimination in hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, and other terms of employment. It applies to private employers with 20 or more employees, as well as to state and local governments. The Supreme Court in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, 557 U.S. 167 (2009), held that ADEA plaintiffs must prove that age was the “but-for” cause of the adverse action — a higher standard than the motivating-factor standard available under Title VII.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Title I of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with a disability and requires employers of 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations absent undue hardship. “Disability” is defined broadly under the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) to include any physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having such impairment.

ADA claims frequently arise from:

  • Failure to accommodate — employer refuses a reasonable accommodation (modified schedule, assistive equipment, leave, reassignment to a vacant position)
  • Failure to engage in the interactive process — employer refuses to meaningfully discuss accommodation options with the employee
  • Disability-based termination or discipline — adverse action based on the disability itself or on the employer’s perception of the employee as disabled
  • Improper medical inquiries and examinations — requesting medical information outside the narrow circumstances the ADA permits

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, codified within Title VII at 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(k), makes clear that discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions is sex discrimination. Pregnant employees must be treated the same as other employees who are similar in their ability or inability to work.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which took effect in June 2023, strengthens these protections by requiring covered employers (15+ employees) to provide reasonable accommodations to employees and applicants with limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship. Accommodations can include additional breaks, modified schedules, light duty, seating, or time off for prenatal appointments.

The Equal Pay Act

The Equal Pay Act of 1963, 29 U.S.C. § 206(d), prohibits sex-based wage discrimination between men and women performing substantially equal work in the same establishment. EPA claims have unique procedural advantages for workers:

  • No EEOC charge is required before filing suit.
  • The statute of limitations is two years, extended to three years for willful violations.
  • A successful plaintiff is entitled to back wages plus an equal amount in liquidated damages unless the employer can prove the violation was in good faith.
  • Pay disparity may also be pursued under Title VII as sex discrimination, particularly where the disparity is accompanied by other evidence of bias.

Religious Discrimination and Failure to Accommodate

Title VII prohibits discrimination based on religion and requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs, observances, and practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the business. The Supreme Court in Groff v. DeJoy, 600 U.S. 447 (2023), substantially strengthened these protections by holding that “undue hardship” under Title VII requires a showing that the accommodation would result in substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of the employer’s business — a significantly higher burden than the “more than de minimis cost” standard that had governed since 1977.

Common religious accommodation issues include scheduling conflicts with religious observances, religious dress and grooming practices, prayer breaks, and requests to be excused from specific job duties that conflict with sincerely held beliefs.

The Tennessee Human Rights Act (THRA)

The Tennessee Human Rights Act, Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-21-101 et seq., is the state-law parallel to Title VII. It prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, sex, age, or national origin. The Tennessee Disability Act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-50-103) provides comparable state-law protection against disability discrimination. The THRA applies to employers with eight or more employees — a broader reach than Title VII in that respect — though damages awardable under the THRA differ from federal remedies.

Important — 2025 changes to Tennessee enforcement: Effective July 1, 2025, the Tennessee Human Rights Commission was dissolved and its functions transferred to the new Civil Rights Enforcement Division (CRED) within the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. State-level discrimination complaints are now filed with CRED. The EEOC and CRED have a worksharing agreement, which preserves the 300-day filing window for EEOC charges in Tennessee — but deadlines are tight, and the process for state-law claims is still developing.

Hostile Work Environment and Harassment

Harassment based on a protected characteristic — whether sexual, racial, religious, disability-based, or otherwise — is a form of discrimination prohibited under Title VII, the ADEA, and the ADA when it is severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment. The Supreme Court recognized hostile-work-environment harassment as an actionable theory in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986).

Two kinds of harassment claims arise most often:

Quid Pro Quo

A supervisor conditions a tangible employment benefit — hiring, promotion, compensation, continued employment — on the employee’s submission to unwelcome sexual advances or other protected-class-based conduct. A single incident can be enough to support a quid pro quo claim where a tangible employment action results.

Hostile Work Environment

The workplace is permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, or insult sufficiently severe or pervasive that it creates an abusive working environment. Courts consider the totality of the circumstances: frequency, severity, whether the conduct is physically threatening or humiliating, and whether it unreasonably interferes with work performance. The employer’s liability often turns on whether the harasser is a supervisor or a co-worker, and whether the employer knew or should have known and failed to act. The affirmative defense recognized in Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775 (1998), and Burlington Industries v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742 (1998), shapes much of this analysis.

Harassment cases turn on the documented pattern — texts, emails, witness accounts, HR complaints, and the employer’s response. The earlier an employee begins documenting, the stronger the eventual claim.

Retaliation

Title VII § 704(a) and the parallel anti-retaliation provisions of the ADEA, ADA, and EPA make it unlawful for an employer to retaliate against an employee who:

  • Opposed a practice made unlawful by the statute (the opposition clause), or
  • Made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under the statute (the participation clause).

Retaliation claims are often stronger than the underlying discrimination claim. The Supreme Court in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White, 548 U.S. 53 (2006), held that retaliation reaches any action that would dissuade a reasonable employee from making or supporting a charge of discrimination — a broader standard than the “ultimate employment action” rule that applies to substantive discrimination claims. That means demotions, schedule changes, reassignments, pay cuts, and even some exclusion from team activities can support a retaliation claim even when they might not, standing alone, support a discrimination claim.

The EEOC Process — Step by Step

Before most federal employment discrimination claims can be filed in court, the employee must first exhaust administrative remedies by filing a charge with the EEOC. This is a jurisdictional prerequisite for Title VII, the ADEA, the ADA, and the PWFA. (As noted, Equal Pay Act claims and § 1981 claims do not require an EEOC charge.)

Step 1 — Filing the Charge

The charge must be filed in writing, verified, and signed. It may be filed through the EEOC Public Portal, at an EEOC field office, or by mail. Tennessee has EEOC offices in Memphis and Nashville. The charge must identify the parties, describe the discriminatory conduct, and identify the basis of discrimination (race, sex, age, disability, etc.).

Step 2 — Deadlines (Critical)

Deadlines are short and almost always fatal if missed:

  • 180 days from the date of the discriminatory act in states without a worksharing agreement.
  • 300 days in states with a Fair Employment Practices Agency that has a worksharing agreement with the EEOC. Tennessee remains a 300-day state following the EEOC’s worksharing agreement with CRED, but that status should be confirmed at the time of your consultation.
  • For the ADEA, the 300-day extension applies where the state has both an age-discrimination statute and an agency authorized to enforce it.
  • For state-law claims under the THRA, the deadline to file a complaint with CRED is generally 180 days from the adverse act.
  • A THRA lawsuit filed directly in state court must generally be brought within one year after the unlawful practice ceases, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-21-311.

For ongoing harassment, the clock generally starts running from the last incident — the so-called continuing violation doctrine recognized in National Railroad Passenger Corp. v. Morgan, 536 U.S. 101 (2002). For pay discrimination, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 provides that each discriminatory paycheck can reset the limitations period. These rules are fact-intensive; do not rely on them to rescue a late charge without speaking to counsel.

Step 3 — Investigation

The EEOC serves the charge on the employer, which is required to submit a position statement responding to the allegations. The agency may request additional documents (discovery-like “Requests for Information”), conduct witness interviews, or request on-site visits. Most charges are resolved without formal investigation — but where the EEOC does investigate, its findings can be powerful evidence in later litigation.

Step 4 — Mediation

The EEOC offers free mediation. If both parties agree, a neutral EEOC mediator facilitates a confidential settlement discussion. Mediation can resolve a case quickly and without the cost of litigation — but accepting a settlement at mediation generally means releasing the claim, which is why having counsel review any proposed resolution is essential.

Step 5 — Determination and Conciliation

After investigation, the EEOC issues one of three outcomes:

  • Dismissal and Notice of Rights — the agency did not find sufficient evidence of discrimination. The charging party still receives a Notice of Right to Sue.
  • Reasonable Cause determination — the agency found reasonable cause to believe discrimination occurred. The EEOC then attempts conciliation; if unsuccessful, it may file its own enforcement lawsuit or issue a Notice of Right to Sue.
  • Administrative closure — for procedural reasons (duplicate charge, lack of jurisdiction, etc.).

Step 6 — The Right-to-Sue Letter and the 90-Day Window

The EEOC’s Notice of Right to Sue triggers a strict 90-day deadline to file suit in federal district court under Title VII, the ADA, or the PWFA (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(1)). Missing this 90-day window bars the federal claim. You do not need to wait for the EEOC to complete its investigation — if the charge has been pending for 180 days, the charging party may request a Notice of Right to Sue.

The ADEA works slightly differently — a plaintiff may file suit 60 days after filing the EEOC charge without waiting for a Right to Sue, and no Right to Sue is technically required.

Damages — What You Can Recover

Remedies in a successful employment discrimination case may include:

  • Back pay — lost wages and benefits from the date of the adverse action through trial.
  • Front pay — future lost earnings where reinstatement is not feasible.
  • Reinstatement or promotion — where feasible and appropriate.
  • Compensatory damages — emotional distress, mental anguish, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life. Under Title VII and the ADA, these are subject to statutory caps based on employer size under 42 U.S.C. § 1981a.
  • Punitive damages — available under Title VII and the ADA where the employer acted with malice or reckless indifference to federally protected rights (also subject to the § 1981a caps, which combined with compensatory damages range from $50,000 to $300,000).
  • Liquidated damages — available under the ADEA and EPA for willful violations, equal to the back-pay award.
  • Attorney’s fees and costs — a prevailing plaintiff is generally entitled to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs from the employer.

Section 1981 is important here: in race discrimination cases, § 1981 is not subject to the statutory caps that apply to Title VII compensatory and punitive damages. This is one reason we routinely plead § 1981 alongside Title VII.

How to Build Your Case — What to Do Now

The employees who prevail in discrimination cases are almost always the ones who documented well from the start. If you believe you are being discriminated against — or have already been fired or denied a promotion — here is what to do immediately:

  1. Preserve every written communication. Emails, texts, Slack or Teams messages, voicemails, performance reviews, disciplinary notices, PIPs, termination letters. Forward personal copies to a personal email address before your work access is cut off.
  2. Keep a contemporaneous log. Date, time, location, who was present, exactly what was said or done. Contemporaneous notes are far more powerful at trial than reconstructions.
  3. Identify comparators. Which employees outside your protected class were treated differently in similar situations? Names, roles, and specifics matter.
  4. Preserve your HR complaints. If you reported the conduct internally, save your complaint and the employer’s response. If you have not yet reported it, consider whether a formal written complaint is appropriate — speaking with counsel before doing so is often worth the time.
  5. Keep your resume active and mitigate damages. A plaintiff has a duty to mitigate lost wages. Document your job search — applications submitted, interviews, offers received or declined.
  6. Do not sign anything presented to you after an adverse action. Severance agreements, releases, and settlement offers routinely contain broad waivers that foreclose discrimination claims. Have counsel review before you sign.
  7. Do not post about the matter on social media. Anything posted becomes discoverable and can be used to undermine your case.
  8. Contact counsel immediately. The 180/300-day EEOC deadline is unforgiving. If the conduct has been ongoing, the clock has already been running.

What Brooks Law Firm Does for Clients

When we take an employment discrimination case, our work generally includes:

  • Pre-charge investigation and strategy. We review the documents, interview the client in depth, identify comparators, and frame the strongest theory of the case before filing anything.
  • Drafting and filing the EEOC charge. How a charge is drafted affects what claims are preserved. Omitting a theory or a basis at the charge stage can foreclose it in litigation.
  • Position statement response. The employer’s position statement shapes the investigation. We prepare the client’s rebuttal and supplementary submissions.
  • Mediation representation. We evaluate settlement posture before mediation, prepare the client, and negotiate with a realistic understanding of what the case is worth.
  • Federal court litigation. If the case does not resolve administratively, we file suit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee — through pleading, written discovery, depositions, summary judgment, and trial.
  • Coordinated state-law claims. Where appropriate, we plead parallel THRA and Tennessee Disability Act claims, or pursue them separately in state court, to maximize available remedies.
  • Severance negotiation. For clients who come to us before signing a severance agreement, we can often negotiate materially better terms than what was initially offered — while preserving the client’s right to pursue a discrimination claim if warranted.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to file with the EEOC before I can sue?

For Title VII, ADEA, ADA, and PWFA claims — yes. For Equal Pay Act and § 1981 claims — no. Your lawyer will determine which statutes apply to your facts and file accordingly.

I was fired three months ago. Is it too late?

Almost certainly not for the EEOC charge — Tennessee’s 300-day window gives you roughly ten months. But time is against you. The further out from the event you get, the harder it is to preserve witness testimony, locate comparators, and obtain documents. Call as soon as you reasonably can.

My employer has fewer than 15 employees. Do I have any rights?

Title VII and the ADA do not apply. But the Tennessee Human Rights Act applies to employers with eight or more employees, and § 1981 (race discrimination in contracts) applies regardless of employer size. The Equal Pay Act also has no minimum employer size for most purposes. Your options depend on the facts — a consultation is the only way to know for sure.

Will my employer find out I’m talking to a lawyer?

Initial consultations with our firm are confidential. Your employer does not learn we are involved until a charge is filed or a demand is made — and both of those steps are decisions you make after weighing the options with counsel.

What does an employment discrimination case cost?

Employment discrimination cases are most commonly handled on a contingency-fee basis — meaning the firm is paid as a percentage of any recovery, and you owe no attorney’s fee if there is no recovery. Contingency is not guaranteed, however. Depending on the facts, the likelihood of recovery, the complexity of the claims, and the client’s objectives, we may instead structure representation on an hourly, hybrid (reduced hourly plus a smaller contingency), or flat-fee basis — particularly for defensive work, severance negotiation, or matters with limited damages exposure. Every engagement is set out in a written fee agreement signed before representation begins.

Fee-shifting provisions materially change the economics of most federal discrimination cases. A prevailing plaintiff can recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs from the employer under a number of statutes:

  • Title VII — 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(k) (attorney’s fees) and § 1988(b) (fees and expert fees in civil rights actions)
  • Section 1981 — 42 U.S.C. § 1988(b) (fees) and § 1988(c) (expert witness fees)
  • ADEA — 29 U.S.C. § 626(b), incorporating the fee provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act at 29 U.S.C. § 216(b) (fees and costs to prevailing plaintiff, mandatory)
  • Americans with Disabilities Act — 42 U.S.C. § 12205 (fees, litigation expenses, and costs)
  • Equal Pay Act — 29 U.S.C. § 216(b) (mandatory fees and costs to prevailing plaintiff)
  • Pregnant Workers Fairness Act — 42 U.S.C. § 2000gg-2(a)(1), applying Title VII’s remedies including § 2000e-5(k) fee-shifting
  • Family and Medical Leave Act — 29 U.S.C. § 2617(a)(3) (mandatory fees and costs to prevailing plaintiff)
  • Tennessee Human Rights Act — Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-21-311(b) (reasonable attorney’s fees to prevailing plaintiff)
  • Tennessee Disability Act — Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-50-103(b)(3), incorporating THRA remedies

In the federal statutes above, fee awards to prevailing plaintiffs are the rule rather than the exception under Christiansburg Garment Co. v. EEOC, 434 U.S. 412 (1978). Fee-shifting means that even cases with modest economic damages can be worth pursuing — because a successful result forces the employer, not the client, to bear the cost of vindicating federal rights. The practical effect in a contingency case is that the client typically keeps a larger share of the recovery than they would in a non-fee-shifting case.

A word of caution: these same statutes permit fee awards to prevailing defendants in limited circumstances (generally where the claim is frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless under the Christiansburg standard). This is one of several reasons we evaluate every case carefully before filing — to make sure the claim has a sound factual and legal basis.

Can I still be fired for complaining?

Retaliation against an employee for making a good-faith complaint of discrimination is independently unlawful under Title VII § 704, the ADEA, the ADA, the EPA, and the THRA. A retaliatory termination gives rise to a separate — and often quite strong — cause of action.

Contact the Firm

Brooks Law Firm
2299 Union Avenue
Memphis, Tennessee 38104
Phone: (901) 324-5000
Email: patrick@patrickbrookslaw.com

If you believe you have been the victim of employment discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, contact Brooks Law Firm for a confidential consultation. Consultations are arranged by telephone or in person at our Midtown Memphis office. We represent clients in Memphis, across Shelby County, and throughout West Tennessee — in EEOC proceedings, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, and in state courts throughout the region.

Disclaimer: This page provides general information about federal and Tennessee employment discrimination law current as of 2025–2026, including the Tennessee Human Rights Commission’s 2025 dissolution and replacement by the Civil Rights Enforcement Division. It is not legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutory provisions, agency procedures, and case law evolve — amendments and new decisions after the date of this page may affect specific provisions. Every case is different. If you have been discriminated against at work, contact a qualified Tennessee employment lawyer about the specific facts of your situation. Attorney advertising.