42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.
Title VII: employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation
A federal claim in United States district courts · Last verified August 26, 2026
Title VII is the federal employment discrimination statute, and it is unusual among the claims on this site: you cannot walk into court with it. An agency has to see the charge first, and the clock on that step is shorter than most people expect — as short as 180 days from the day it happened.
Miss it and the claim is usually gone. Miss the second deadline, the 90 days after the right-to-sue letter, and it is gone with less argument still.
What the claim is
An employer treated you worse because of your race, color, religion, sex, or national origin — or punished you for complaining about it. That covers hiring, firing, pay, promotion, discipline, assignments, and harassment severe or pervasive enough to change the conditions of your job.
"Sex" reaches more than it once did. Pregnancy has been covered since 1978 by amendment. Sexual orientation and gender identity have been covered since 2020, when the Supreme Court held in Bostock v. Clayton County that firing someone for being gay or transgender is discrimination because of sex.
Title VII does not cover wages and hours, age, or disability. Those are separate statutes.
Where the right comes from
The prohibition is express:
It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer ... to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Retaliation gets its own section, and it is broader than people assume — it protects opposing a practice you reasonably believe is unlawful, not only being right about it.
What a plaintiff has to prove
For intentional discrimination, the ultimate question is whether the employer acted because of a protected characteristic. Courts organise the proof through a burden-shifting framework: the employee makes out a prima facie case, the employer offers a legitimate reason, and the employee shows that reason is a pretext.
That framework is an evidentiary tool, not a pleading standard. A complaint does not have to allege a prima facie case to survive a motion to dismiss. The Supreme Court settled that in Swierkiewicz v. Sorema, and it still holds — the complaint has to make discrimination plausible, nothing more.
Two recent decisions changed what plaintiffs must show:
- Harm no longer has to be significant. In Muldrow v. City of St. Louis (2024) the Court held that an employee challenging a forced transfer must show some harm to a term or condition of employment, and that the harm "need not be significant." That overturned a material-disadvantage requirement most circuits had applied.
- Majority-group plaintiffs get no extra burden. In Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services (2025) the Court held unanimously that the "background circumstances" requirement some circuits imposed on white, male, or heterosexual plaintiffs has no basis in the statute.
Retaliation runs on a different standard: the action must be materially adverse — enough to dissuade a reasonable worker from complaining — and causation is but-for, not motivating-factor.
For harassment, the conduct must be unwelcome, based on a protected trait, and severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment, judged both objectively and by the plaintiff.
How long you have to file
Two clocks, and both are short.
Clock one — the EEOC charge. File within 180 days of the discriminatory act, extended to 300 days in a state with its own fair employment agency. Most states have one, so 300 is common, but do not assume it.
Clock two — the lawsuit. After the EEOC issues a right-to-sue notice, you have 90 days to file. Courts count this one strictly.
Accrual for a discrete act — a firing, a refusal to promote — runs from the day the decision was communicated, not the day it took effect. Hostile-environment claims work differently: because the violation is the cumulative environment, the whole period comes in so long as one contributing act falls inside the window.
Pay discrimination has its own rule. Congress overrode the Supreme Court's Ledbetter decision with the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, so each discriminatory paycheck restarts the clock. Anyone reading older material on pay claims should check its date.
What has to happen before you file
File a charge with the EEOC, or with the state agency that has a work-sharing arrangement with it, and get a right-to-sue notice.
The important refinement is what happens when you skip it. The charge-filing requirement is a mandatory claim-processing rule, not a jurisdictional bar. The Supreme Court held so unanimously in Fort Bend County v. Davis. An employer that fails to raise the defect promptly forfeits it. That does not make the step optional — an employer who raises it on time wins — but it means a court will not dismiss on its own motion years in.
The 15-employee threshold works the same way. It is an element of the claim, not a limit on the court's jurisdiction, under Arbaugh v. Y&H Corp.
Who can be sued — and who cannot
Employers with 15 or more employees, counted across 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding year. Below that, Title VII does not apply, though many state statutes reach smaller employers.
State and local governments are covered, and a state's sovereign immunity is no defense — Congress validly abrogated it for Title VII.
Unions and employment agencies are covered by their own provisions.
Individual supervisors and coworkers cannot be sued. Title VII imposes liability on the employer. The manager who harassed you is not personally liable under this statute, however directly they caused the harm. (Contrast the wage-and-hour statute, where an individual with operational control can be personally liable.)
Common defenses
A legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the decision, which the plaintiff must then show was a pretext.
The Faragher/Ellerth defense to supervisor harassment where no tangible employment action was taken: the employer exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct harassment, and the employee unreasonably failed to use the procedures available.
Bona fide occupational qualification, available for religion, sex, and national origin where reasonably necessary to the business. Never available for race.
A bona fide seniority or merit system.
Failure to mitigate, which reduces back pay if you did not look for comparable work.
After-acquired evidence, which can cut off damages from the date the employer discovers a lawful reason it would have fired you anyway.
Untimely charge — an affirmative defense, and one the employer has to raise on time.
What the claim pays
Back pay, front pay, reinstatement, and injunctive relief.
Compensatory and punitive damages are available for intentional discrimination, but they are capped by employer size, and the cap is combined — compensatory and punitive together:
| Employees | Combined cap |
|---|---|
| 15 to 100 | $50,000 |
| 101 to 200 | $100,000 |
| 201 to 500 | $200,000 |
| More than 500 | $300,000 |
Back pay and front pay sit outside the cap. The jury is never told the caps exist; the court reduces the award afterward. Punitive damages require malice or reckless indifference and are not available against a government employer.
Attorney's fees go to the prevailing party — but again asymmetrically. A prevailing defendant recovers only where the suit was frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless.
Many plaintiffs plead a parallel state statute alongside Title VII for one reason: several state laws impose no damages cap at all.
What people get wrong
"I can sue my boss personally." Under Title VII, no. Only the employer is liable.
"I can go straight to court." No. The EEOC charge comes first.
"The charge deadline is jurisdictional and nothing can save me." Not since Fort Bend. It is a claim-processing rule, and an employer can forfeit it — though never count on that.
"Every unfair thing at work is actionable." No. Discrimination now needs some harm to a term or condition of employment; retaliation needs an action that would deter a reasonable worker from complaining.
"Reverse discrimination claims need extra proof." Not after Ames.
"My employer has to accommodate my religion only if it's convenient." The duty is real, and the employer's burden to refuse is higher than the trivial-cost standard once applied.
Where it came from
Title VII was the centerpiece of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and created the EEOC to enforce it. Three later changes matter most. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 wrote pregnancy into the definition of sex. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 added compensatory and punitive damages, the caps above, and the right to a jury — the statute had offered only equitable relief before. And the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 reset the accrual rule for pay claims.
Common questions
How long do I have to file an EEOC charge?
180 days from the discriminatory act, or 300 days if your state has its own fair employment agency. Once the EEOC issues a right-to-sue letter you have 90 days to file suit.
Can I sue my manager personally for harassment under Title VII?
No. Title VII liability attaches to the employer, not to individual supervisors or coworkers. Some state statutes and other legal theories reach individuals; Title VII does not.
Does Title VII cover sexual orientation and gender identity?
Yes, since 2020. The Supreme Court held in Bostock v. Clayton County that discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender identity is discrimination because of sex.
How small can an employer be before Title VII stops applying?
Fewer than 15 employees, measured across 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding year. Many state fair-employment statutes reach smaller employers.
Is there a limit on damages?
Yes for compensatory and punitive damages together, ranging from $50,000 to $300,000 by employer size. Back pay, front pay, and attorney's fees are not capped.