EEOC found Probable Cause of Discrimination! Is there a pay out?

The EEOC investigated my Charge of Discrimination I filed against my Employer and found Probable Cause of Discrimination! Is there a pay out?

By: Kurt J. Jung, Esquire, Partner & Principal of Jung & Jaeger Law LLC

Haddonfield, NJ

January 30, 2026

You filed a Charge of Discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC notifies you that your case is being assigned to an investigator. Your investigator interviews you and collects a few documents from you. 

Months go by and you do not hear anything from the EEOC investigator.  About a year later, you receive a message that there is a document in the portal. You discover it is a Letter of Determination. You read the letter and the EEOC states that they have found “probable cause of discrimination.” You scream, “Hooray!  Finally justice! It’s over. . . or is it?” The letter indicates that a conciliation conference is scheduled in the next month to provide the employer with the opportunity to settle the case. 

You log onto the virtual conciliation conference on your scheduled date, and the employer decides that it will offer you nominal value to settle the case. You reject the offer and submit a good faith counteroffer. The conciliation conference ends with no settlement and the investigator stating that it will check with the EEOC Legal Unit to see if the EEOC wants to litigate the case on your behalf. A few weeks later, you receive a document called a “Notice of Rights” which explains that you have the rights to file a lawsuit in federal court within 90 days of the issuance of the notice. 

What just happened? I thought the EEOC was going to help me and represent me in court. As a former EEOC investigator and trial attorney, I have seen this scenario again and again. What the EEOC won’t tell you is that even though they may find probable cause of discrimination they will unlikely be able to help you if the employer does not want to conciliate your case. The EEOC has limited resources and will not litigate the case on your behalf unless it determines that the case has a high impact, such as systemic discrimination or a significant legal issue would further their internal litigation goals. This is a small percentage of cases per year. You may find that you wasted a year or even two years waiting for a decision. 

EEOC has divided the country into 15 Districts to process your charge of discrimination. In many of the districts, if you file in a charge of discrimination and you are represented by an attorney, some Regional Attorneys have already decided that they will not litigate the case on your behalf, even if they find probable cause of discrimination. 

The probable cause decision in your favor does not guarantee that you will be able to fight your employer without filing a lawsuit in court. This may be difficult without hiring an attorney who can guide you through the process. Filing a charge with the EEOC may not necessarily be in your best interest because there might be a better remedy at the state level. Furthermore, during a lengthy investigation at the federal level, witnesses may leave the Respondent employer, memories of what happened may fade and by the time you decide to take the case to court the persons who are responsible for the alleged discriminatory action may no longer work for the company. 

If you have a case in New Jersey, it is best to consult with an experienced employment attorney before seeking help from EEOC or the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights (NJDCR). There may be advantages and disadvantages to filing your case with the EEOC or the NJDCR. Filing with either agency may be a waste of time. You need expertise to ensure that you are making the right choices in pursuing your discrimination complaint.

Having your case investigated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission can be frustrating and confusing. As a layperson with no representation, you will not necessarily know whether you have a valid cause of action to sue in court unless you are knowledgeable in employment law. The investigator may request a position statement from the respondent, which is usually drafted by an experienced employment defense attorney. After receiving the position statement, the investigator may ask you to submit what is known as a rebuttal statement to refute and provide further evidence. However, you may not know what information to submit. You might provide witness names, but the investigator is under no obligation to interview any or all of your witnesses. The EEOC handles many cases each year and has limited resources and time to investigate each case. The agency has no requirement to thoroughly investigate your case.

The Advantages of Retaining a Private Attorney

To be able to bring an employment discrimination action in federal court, an aggrieved employee or applicant must file a complaint or what is known as a charge of discrimination with the EEOC within 300 days[1] of the alleged discriminatory action. Retaining an attorney to represent you in an employment discrimination case against your employer before you file with EEOC has its advantages and could ensure that the charge of discrimination exhausts administrative remedies under federal law. Hiring an experienced private attorney to draft your charge of discrimination and file the charge with the EEOC will ensure that the case is properly pled and filed. There are other requirements of which you may not be aware, such as the number of required employees and factual requirements to find probable cause of discrimination. The attorney will represent you during the investigation. Even if the EEOC issues you a Dismissal and Notice of Rights, a prospective attorney may decline to represent you if your charge of discrimination was improperly pled or omitted claims, as this could increase the cost of litigating your case. In cases where the investigator determines that there is not enough evidence to support the facts of your allegations, the EEOC will easily dismiss the case providing explanations that may be difficult to understand. If you receive a Dismissal and Notice of Rights, you have 90 days to file a lawsuit in federal court. A case that is filed in federal court after 90 days will likely be dismissed as untimely. You should contact an attorney to discuss your legal options and preserve your rights.

Complainants should also be aware that, in New Jersey, there is no requirement to file a charge of discrimination or a complaint with the EEOC or the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights (NJDCR) before proceeding at the state level, a complainant may file directly in the Superior Court of New Jersey under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD). An attorney may advise you that it is better for you to skip the EEOC process and file directly in Superior Court under state law, in the county where the discriminatory action took place or where the complainant resides.

Filing a discrimination complaint with the EEOC or the NJDCR to eventually file in court is sometimes complex and may not be the best strategy to achieve justice. Keep reading Jung & Jaeger Law’s blogs to learn more about the EEOC, NJDCR and employment discrimination. For more information and to schedule a free consultation, visit our website at jungjaegerlaw.com or contact our office at kurt@jungjaegerlaw.com, jacob@jungjaegerlaw.com, or (856) 203-6229. We accept clients in every county of New Jersey. 

[1] There are instances in which the filing deadline may be shorter depending on where the action took place and circumstances. Filers should consult with the EEOC or an employment attorney to discuss the filing deadlines.

The information on this blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Do not act or refrain from acting based on anything you read on this blog without seeking professional legal counsel.

EEOC found Probable Cause of Discrimination! Is there a pay out?  Jung & Jaeger Law LLC © 2026