In employment cases, you must submit an intake form to CRD within three years of the date you were last harmed. In most other cases, you must do this within one year of the date you were last harmed.
You do not have to use the CRD investigation process. You can instead file your own lawsuit. However, in employment cases only, you must obtain an immediate Right-to-Sue notice from CRD before filing your own lawsuit in court.
The submission of the intake form will initiate an intake interview with a CRD representative. The CRD representative will evaluate the allegations and determine if a formal complaint can be accepted for investigation. CRD can only investigate violations of certain civil rights laws. While many people believe they were treated unfairly, CRD can only accept cases if one of the laws it enforces may have been violated. If your complaint is not accepted for investigation, it is not because CRD does not believe you were treated unfairly. Rather it is because your complaint, if proven, would not violate the civil rights laws that CRD enforces.
The Next Steps:
If your complaint is accepted for investigation, CRD will prepare a complaint form for your signature. When you return the signed complaint, it will be sent to the person or entity that you believe discriminated against you.
The filing of a complaint does not mean that CRD has already determined whether there is reasonable cause to believe any laws have been violated. Instead, it means that CRD has preliminarily determined that the allegations are covered by a law that the department enforces.