Where Your Union Stops and an Employment Lawyer Starts

Your union can help you through discipline and an investigation. In my experience, that is where its help usually stops. An EEOC charge and a lawsuit are a different job, and most officers don't find out where that line sits until they are already on the wrong side of it.

I tell everybody who calls me the same thing: check with your union first. If you don't have to pay me, then don't. I'm not going to take money from you if you don't need to pay me for something.

A Discovery Call is 30 minutes and $250, so know first whether you need one.

What your union handles.

Use your union services in every way possible. If your issue involves discipline or an investigation, your union is going to help you with that part.

Maybe your rep sits in the interview with you. Maybe you have to write a statement, and they help you write it. Take all of that help.

Where it usually stops.

Union help usually does not include affirmative legal action. An EEOC charge can end in a lawsuit, and that is where the union tends to step back. Check what your plan covers before you count on it.

Union reps are not employment lawyers. They don't do this for a living.

Say the discipline happens, or you can't get it overturned, and you're left thinking: that was wrong, and somebody needs to answer for it. That is the point where timing and wording start to matter.

Your rep may not know the deadlines you have to meet, what you need to say to trigger certain protections, or what makes the employer legally obligated to act. Get those wrong, and a door that was open can close.

Under federal law, the deadline to file a charge with the EEOC is generally 300 days. State and local deadlines vary and can be shorter, so talk to an attorney as soon as it happens.

The EEOC clock doesn't stop while a grievance runs.

Don't wait.

When to call an attorney.

Call your union the moment discipline or an investigation starts. Call an employment attorney when the issue is why it's happening to you: your sex, your race, a complaint you filed, FMLA leave you asked for, or anything else the law protects.

You don't have to pick one or the other. They work on different pieces of the same problem.

A 30-minute Discovery Call may be all you need. An attorney takes the call, not an intake person.

In most cases you'll hear right away: yes, they should not be doing that and you need to act, or no, there is nothing there, and here is why.

I know you need that clarity because I needed it when I was the one in uniform. Sometimes the answer is that your union has it handled. Sometimes a deadline is coming and you need to move.

Before the call, have the basic timeline in your head: when it started, when you reported it and to whom, what the agency did, and where the union process stands. Keep any paper nearby, like a written reprimand, a notice of investigation, or an email chain.

The call doesn't include document review, but the dates on that paper matter. They show whether a deadline is already in play.

I would rather you hang up with a clear head than pay for help you didn't need.

Your union handles the discipline. For the part it doesn't cover, Book a Discovery Call.

-Bridget

General information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction.

Frequently asked questions

Can a union rep file an EEOC charge for me?

Usually not. Union help generally stays with discipline, interviews, and statements inside the agency process. Check what your plan covers before you count on it for an EEOC charge or a lawsuit.

Do I need an employment lawyer if I have a union?

If the issue is discipline or an investigation, start with your union. If it is discrimination, retaliation, harassment, or leave rights, talk to an employment lawyer, because union help usually stops short of those claims and the deadlines are short.

How long do I have to file an EEOC charge?

Under federal law, the deadline to file a charge with the EEOC is generally 300 days. State and local deadlines vary and can be shorter, so talk to an attorney as soon as it happens.

What happens on a Discovery Call with Lady Law Shield?

You talk with an attorney, not an intake person, for 30 minutes. The call costs $250. You can usually find out whether there is something you should act on, and why.