At any point during their investigation of employment matters, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) and/or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) may issue what is called a “right to sue” letter. The agencies can issue these right to sue letters for any number of reasons. Regardless of why you received a right to sue letter, there is one thing you need to pay particular attention to: YOU HAVE 90 DAYS TO ACT. If you do not file suit within 90 days, some or all of your claims may disappear. As a practical matter, this means you need to start looking for an attorney right away. If you come to an attorney on day 86, there is a good chance you are going to run into some problems.
My office routinely reviews EEOC and BOLI files. In most cases, I suggest having an attorney review the status of an administrative investigation before any findings are issued. There are some cases where it is advantageous to close the administrative investigation before the agency has a chance to finalize its findings. This is a rather complex analysis and is something that needs to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
