Workers who file a charge of discrimination with DFEH or EEOC often ask how long it will take till they hear back from those agencies. They also want to know when they will receive their right-to-sue letter, which is required before they can file a lawsuit for discrimination in California.
The bad news is that in most counties these agencies are extremely busy and have limited resources which allow them to thoroughly look into a very small percentage of cases submitted to them. Therefore, it’s not uncommon for claimants to wait for many months or even a year or longer before they hear back from these agencies, let alone obtain a right-to-sue letter. In the vast majority of cases, these agencies do not find sufficient evidence to support a discrimination and retaliation charge and simply close the case, and issue a right-to-sue letter.
The good news that there is really no need to wait for a right-to-sue letter. An attorney can obtain a right-to-sue letter through an automated filing system on DFEH website in ten minutes or less without any need to wait for any type of investigation, which, as noted above, usually doesn’t lead to any conclusive results anyway, even if you have a potentially strong case.
Therefore, the best way to proceed with obtaining a right-to-sue letter is to first discuss your potential case with a trusted employment attorney. If he determines that there is sufficient basis to make a case and you decide to work together, then he can take care of obtaining the right-to-sue letter on your behalf. This will allow you to have your case file in court sooner than later, without waiting for DFEH / EEOC process.
If, however, one or more experienced employment lawyers explain to you why your potential case is not worth pursuing, then you can still chose to file a charge of discrimination with one of those agencies on your own, as it doesn’t cost anything, and there is still a chance that the agency will issue findings that are favorable to you and may lead to being able to make a case in the future.