Maine has one Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) field office, which is located in Boston, Massachusetts. If the incident in question took place within the state of Maine then you should file your claim at the EEOC office in Boston.
There are also two other field offices in the New York district (one in Buffalo, NY, and one in Newark, NJ), but Maine residents should use the field office in Boston to file their EEOC discrimination claim.
Please be advised that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, field offices across the New York district are closed to in-person intake interviews. For your convenience, you can access more information, download forms and schedule a phone appointment through the EEOC Public Portal website or contact your local EEOC office.
The EEOC is the federal government agency responsible for protecting employees’ rights in the workplace. If you have experienced discrimination in a legally protected category such as race, sex, age or religion, then you can file an EEOC claim in Maine.
If you have been the victim of discrimination, it’s important to act quickly. You have 300 days from the date of the incident to file a claim with the EEOC.
Each state has different guidelines and laws governing discrimination claims, and so you should consider contacting an employment attorney to help guide you through the EEOC claim process in Maine.
EEOC Office Information in Maine
- JFK Federal Building
- 15 New Sudbury Street, Room 475
- Boston, MA 02203-0506
- Office Hours: M-F 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
- Phone: 1-800-669-4000
- Director: Feng K. An
- Regional Attorney: Jeffrey Burstein
- State Employment Laws
The Maine Human Rights Act protects workers from discrimination on the grounds of one’s sex, sexual orientation, age (Maine laws protect workers of any age), physical or mental disability, race, color, genetic pre-disposition, religion, ancestry or national origin. Workers who face discrimination are also protected from retaliation by the Whistleblower’s Act.
The EEOC only covers workplaces with more than 15 employees, but Maine’s laws cover workplaces of all sizes. Therefore, if you work in a business with 1-14 employees you should file with the Maine Human Rights Commission (MHRC), and if there are more than 15 employees you should file with the EEOC.
It’s possible that your case could be resolved outside of court, so you do not need an attorney to file your claim, but it can be helpful to work with an employment attorney through the process because the MHRC is located in Maine and some employment attorneys suggest starting with the local office before moving on to the EEOC.
Both agencies have a work-sharing agreement, so if you want your claim before both agencies you can cross-file a claim if you meet all of the guidelines.
An employment attorney can help you determine if you should file your discrimination case with the MHRC or EEOC in Maine while making sure that you have all of the evidence needed and that you’re on top of all of the deadlines.
You cannot file a discrimination lawsuit without going through the EEOC first, so having an employment attorney working on your behalf from the very beginning can be very helpful.
To learn more about how an employment attorney can help you with your EEOC claim in Maine, fill out a free case evaluation.
