A discrimination charge can reach your desk without warning. The way you respond during the first few days often shapes the cost, the disruption and the risks that follow. Before you draft a reply, you will need to know which agency holds the file and what California law expects.
Understanding the investigating agency
Under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) is responsible for enforcing workplace civil rights protections. The law applies to businesses with as few as five employees and places no cap on the damages a losing employer can be ordered to pay.
Beyond its broad reach, the CRD also operates under much longer timelines than federal regulators. A worker has three years to file a complaint with the CRD, compared to only 300 days with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). As the two agencies cross-file charges, the events behind a complaint that reached your desk today may stem from years ago.
Preserving relevant records
The records you still hold are your strongest defense against claims rooted in past events. Once a notice arrives, taking the following steps can help secure important documents:
- Place emails, text messages, chat logs and personnel files under a litigation hold
- Suspend automatic deletion settings in your retention systems
- Limit early interviews to the people who witnessed the events
- Prepare a timeline of each decision and the people involved
These records also guard against a secondary risk, as FEHA allows retaliation lawsuits to proceed even if the initial discrimination complaint fails. Because sudden changes to a complaining employee’s schedule or duties can appear retaliatory, keeping a reliable timeline helps prove you made the decision based on legitimate business needs.
Coordinating your defense strategy
The same documents shape the defense you present. California applies a burden-shifting analysis to FEHA claims, so you must identify a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the decision, and the worker must then prove that reason was a pretext for bias. Consulting with an attorney can help you gather the relevant documents and assist with other parts of the case.
The state also recognizes a same-decision defense. If you demonstrate that you would have reached the identical decision for lawful reasons, the worker cannot recover damages, back pay or reinstatement. While a court may still award attorney fees and impose declaratory or injunctive relief, this defense limits your financial risk by cutting off the primary claims.