Reporting discrimination isn’t a mystery. It’s a legal process with forms, deadlines, and agencies that read every line you write. The problem is that most people don’t learn that process until the damage is already done. Knowing how to report workplace discrimination early, before evidence disappears or policies close off your options, can change everything.
At Smithey Law Group LLC, managing partner Joyce Smithey and our team of award-winning workplace discrimination attorneys help Maryland employees turn experience into evidence and evidence into action. We use the law to protect careers, restore balance, and hold employers accountable.
What Counts as Workplace Discrimination?
Federal and Maryland laws define discrimination narrowly and precisely. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers may not treat workers differently because of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex, including sexual orientation and gender identity. Other federal laws protect employees with disabilities, pregnant workers, and workers over 40 from age discrimination. Maryland’s Fair Employment Practices Act also extends safeguards to marital status, gender identity, workers under 40, and genetic information.
Discrimination isn’t limited to hiring and firing, either. It appears in everyday decisions such as who gets trained, who receives overtime, and who employers invite into meetings. A demotion after medical leave or a joke about prioritizing “young blood” on a team may both violate the law. The key question is motive: was a protected trait part of the reason? And if so, it may be unlawful.
How Do I Report Workplace Discrimination in Maryland?
The process to report workplace discrimination follows a clear path. Each step builds on the one before it, turning your account into a legal record that state and federal agencies can act on.
1. Confirm That What Happened Fits a Protected Category
Before you file anything, identify what kind of bias you’re dealing with. Employment law protects workers from discrimination based on traits like race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, and more under both federal and Maryland law. What matters is connection: If the mistreatment you experienced connects to one of those traits, for example, less pay, stalled promotions, or exclusion from meetings, you may have grounds for a claim. Understanding that link helps you report discrimination clearly and gives investigators a framework for reviewing your case.
2. Start a Record Immediately
Don’t wait for HR to ask for details. Build the file now. Include:
- Dates and times of each incident;
- Names of supervisors, coworkers, and witnesses;
- Screenshots, emails, chats, or memos showing bias or unequal rules;
- Performance reviews from before problems started; and
- Copies of policies your employer claims to follow.
Keep that material at home, not on a company laptop. Maryland’s anti-retaliation rules protect you for opposing discrimination, but evidence on employer systems can vanish. A clear timeline helps the EEOC or Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (MCCR) see the pattern you’re living through.
3. Use the Employer’s Internal Reporting Channel (When Safe to Do So)
Most employers in Maryland have written procedures for reporting harassment or discrimination. They appear in handbooks, HR portals, or policy binders. Follow that process if the person discriminating isn’t the one receiving the complaint. State what happened, link it to a protected trait, and request an investigation. Then send a short email summarizing what you reported so there’s a paper trail.
Internal reporting lets the company attempt correction and proves you gave it that chance. If the employer ignores you or retaliates, that silence becomes evidence.
4. File with the EEOC or the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights
If internal options fail or feel unsafe, move to the formal stage. Maryland employees can file a charge of discrimination with:
- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), or
- The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (MCCR).
Deadlines are strict:
- Under federal law, you have 180 days from the last act to file; and
- When state protections apply, you have 300 days to one year.
Submit the complaint online, by mail, or in person. Include your employer’s contact information, your job title, event dates, and a concise summary of what occurred. After filing, the agency notifies your employer, may offer mediation, and can later issue a right-to-sue letter allowing you to proceed in court.
5. Protect Yourself from Retaliation While the Case Is Pending
After employees report workplace discrimination, some employers grow cautious while others get subtle, cutting hours, moving desks, or rewriting job duties. Those acts can be retaliation, which is illegal under federal and Maryland law, even before any ruling.
Keep logging:
- New write-ups,
- Schedule changes,
- Loss of responsibilities, and
- Exclusion from meetings.
Retaliation can become its own legal claim. Smithey Law Group often uses it to strengthen settlement leverage because it shows the employer still refuses to comply with the law.
6. Work with Counsel Who Knows Maryland Employment Agencies
Filing with the right agency is one thing; filing well is another. The language in your charge controls what you can later argue in court. That’s where experienced representation matters.
Smithey Law Group LLC:
- Is led by Joyce Smithey, author of the Fourth Edition of Maryland Rules Commentary;
- Includes attorneys serving on the Labor and Employment Section Council and the Board of Governors of the Maryland State Bar Association; and
- Has been recognized by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and MSNBC for leadership in employment law.
That depth means the firm can determine which laws apply and draft a charge that withstands agency scrutiny.
Contact Smithey Law Group LLC Today
At Smithey Law Group, employment law is our firm’s foundation. Our leading attorneys, including managing partner Joyce Smithey, teach, publish, and help shape Maryland’s employment regulations from the inside out. When you work with us, you gain a team that:
- Identifies the strongest legal basis for every claim,
- Tracks every filing deadline and procedural rule,
- Crafts agency submissions in the precise language that investigators expect, and
- Evaluates settlement and mediation options with an eye toward trial outcomes.
That focus and collaboration turn complex employment disputes into clear, strategic paths forward, protecting Maryland workers and the integrity of the record that tells their story. Contact us today for a consultation.
