Employment Discrimination & Retaliation

What happened to you at work may have been illegal. You deserve an honest evaluation — not a form letter.

Race and sex/gender discrimination remain common, deeply damaging, and legally actionable in Oregon and Washington workplaces. This practice handles a small number of serious cases with the attention they require.

Practice Focus

The cases this practice is built for.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This practice focuses specifically on race and sex/gender discrimination — the categories where our litigation background and federal enforcement experience are most directly applicable.

Race discrimination — termination, demotion, pay disparities, hostile environments, and failure to promote based on race
Sex and gender discrimination — including pregnancy discrimination, sex-based pay gaps, and gender-based adverse employment actions
Sexual harassment — severe or pervasive conduct creating a hostile work environment
Retaliation — adverse action taken because you complained about discrimination, filed an EEOC charge, or participated in an investigation

Deadline Warning

EEOC charges must typically be filed within 180–300 days of the discriminatory act.

In Oregon, the deadline to file with the BOLI (Bureau of Labor and Industries) is one year. These deadlines are not flexible. If you believe you experienced discrimination, getting an evaluation quickly is important — not to pressure you, but to preserve your options.

Check Your Deadline →

The Reality

What discrimination at work actually looks like.

"Discrimination rarely comes with a confession. It shows up in patterns — who gets promoted, who gets passed over, who gets managed out, and who gets to complain without consequence."

With 15 years of litigation experience across plaintiff employment, federal prosecution, and defense work, Rob understands how discrimination cases are built and challenged. He knows what documentary evidence matters, how juries and judges evaluate credibility, and how employers defend these cases — because he has seen it from every angle. That perspective informs how he evaluates cases from the start.

Whistleblower Retaliation

Reporting wrongdoing should not cost you your job.

Retaliation is one of the most frequently charged violations in employment law — and one of the most underreported. If you experienced adverse action after reporting discrimination, harassment, safety violations, or other illegal conduct, you may have a standalone retaliation claim independent of the underlying complaint.

Protected Activity

Filing an EEOC or BOLI charge, complaining internally about discrimination, participating in an investigation, or refusing to participate in discriminatory practices.

Adverse Action

Termination, demotion, reduction in pay or hours, negative performance reviews timed to your complaint, hostile treatment, or constructive discharge.

What You May Recover

Back pay, front pay, reinstatement, compensatory damages for emotional distress, and in egregious cases, punitive damages and attorney's fees.

The Causal Link

Timing matters. Close proximity between your protected activity and the adverse action is often the most powerful evidence — especially when performance reviews change suddenly or discipline appears from nowhere.

The Process

How an employment discrimination case actually works.

Most federal employment discrimination cases require an administrative charge before you can file in federal court. Understanding this process — and its deadlines — is the first practical step.

Step 01 — EEOC or BOLI Charge

Administrative Filing

Before filing a Title VII lawsuit in federal court, you must first file a charge of discrimination with the EEOC or, in Oregon, with BOLI. This must happen within 180 days of the discriminatory act (300 days if the state has its own anti-discrimination agency, which Oregon does). This is not optional — missing this deadline typically forecloses your federal claims.

Step 02 — Investigation & Right to Sue

Agency Review

The EEOC may investigate, attempt mediation, or issue a right-to-sue letter. If the agency issues a right-to-sue letter, you have 90 days to file suit in federal court. We track these deadlines and respond accordingly.

Step 03 — Federal Litigation or Settlement

Resolution

Employment discrimination cases settle at high rates — often before trial. But the quality of pre-litigation preparation directly affects settlement value. Cases that are built carefully, documented thoroughly, and presented with a clear damages narrative command better outcomes.

Explainer Videos

Short animated overviews of the claims this practice handles.

Washington Law Against Discrimination: what retaliation claims require, how they are evaluated, and what Washington state law provides for employees who report misconduct.

Oregon sex discrimination: how sex and gender discrimination cases are evaluated, what the law requires, and what you need to establish to bring a viable claim.

Questions

What people ask before they call.

I don't have direct evidence my employer discriminated — just a strong feeling and a pattern. Is that enough?

Most discrimination cases are built on circumstantial evidence — comparative treatment, statistical patterns, suspicious timing, and statements that reveal unconscious or explicit bias. Direct admissions are rare. What matters is whether the evidence, taken together, allows a reasonable inference of discriminatory motivation. That's an evaluation we can help you make honestly.

My employer has a documented performance reason for terminating me. Does that end my case?

Not necessarily. Employers frequently construct or retroactively emphasize performance rationales to shield discriminatory decisions. The legal question is whether the stated reason is the real reason — or a pretext. Answering that requires comparing how similarly situated employees of other races or genders were treated for the same or worse conduct.

I signed a severance agreement. Can I still sue?

Severance agreements often include waivers of employment claims, including EEOC charges and lawsuits. Whether a waiver is valid and enforceable — and whether it covers your specific claims — depends on the language of the agreement and when you signed it. This is a threshold legal question that should be addressed immediately, before you take any action.

What does representation cost?

Employment discrimination cases are handled on a contingency basis — no fees unless the case recovers. If the case succeeds, attorney's fees are typically paid by the defendant under Title VII's fee-shifting provision. The initial screening and consultation are always free.