Race Discrimination Lawyer for Oakland County
The promotion went to the person you trained. Your rating dropped from “exceeds” to “needs improvement” the cycle after you told HR about your manager’s remarks.
Then a reorganization eliminated exactly one position: yours. Can an Oakland County employer do that? Not because of your race, and not because you complained about it; the case turns on whether the org chart, the ratings, and the timing prove the real reason. The case evaluation is a free 15-minute call, and termination cases are handled on contingency. The clock that runs out first is the EEOC’s 300 days for Title VII; Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Act allows three years and 42 U.S.C. § 1981 allows four. The statewide race discrimination and retaliation page explains the statutes. This page is about Oakland County.
How race discrimination cases look in Oakland County
Oakland County’s economy is headquarters, engineering centers, hospitals, and finance rather than assembly lines. The race case here is usually decided on documents, because these employers generate so many.
The promotion that never comes at an automotive headquarters
Stellantis North America in Auburn Hills, Magna, BorgWarner, and Lear in Southfield run formal talent reviews, succession lists, and posted requisitions. The pattern is a professional rated well every year, told to “get more visibility,” and passed over three times for candidates with less time, fewer credentials, or a lower rating. The evidence is your ratings history, the postings, what you know about who was selected, and feedback that never named a concrete gap. Talent-review notes and calibration spreadsheets exist, and discovery reaches them.
The rating that fell after the complaint at a Troy office
Flagstar, Comerica, Kelly Services, and the financial and tech offices along Big Beaver tie bonus and stock to an annual rating produced in a calibration meeting. When someone complains to HR about a manager’s comments and the next rating drops a notch with no incident behind it, the bonus and the eventual firing both trace to that meeting. The evidence is every prior rating, the HR complaint with its date, the calibration outcome, and any email in which the manager explains the change.
The patient who wanted “someone else” at a hospital
Corewell Health in Royal Oak and Troy, Ascension Providence in Southfield, and Henry Ford West Bloomfield all field patient and family requests. When a family asks for a different nurse or tech because of race and the charge nurse reassigns you, the hospital has honored a discriminatory preference, and customer preference is not a defense. If your assignments keep shrinking afterward, or “communication” complaints start appearing, the evidence is the assignment sheets, any incident report, and the coworkers who saw the reassignment.
“Communication skills” at an engineering center
Nissan Technical Center North America and Bosch in Farmington Hills, and the supplier engineering groups in Rochester Hills, employ engineers from everywhere. A review that says “communication skills” or “not a cultural fit” about an engineer whose written work is strong often comes down to accent and ancestry. Title VII and ELCRA cover national origin; § 1981 covers ethnicity and ancestry. The evidence is the technical reviews of your work, who else received the same criticism, and who got the program lead instead.
The law that applies
The same three statutes apply across Michigan. What changes in Oakland County is which ones fit the employer and the facts.
Title VII reaches employers with 15 or more employees and requires an EEOC charge within 300 days at the Detroit Field Office. Compensatory and punitive damages are capped at $50K–$300K by employer size, which for an Auburn Hills headquarters means the top of the range. It covers race, color, and national origin, and it covers retaliation for complaining about any of them.
42 U.S.C. § 1981 covers race and ethnicity in the making and enforcement of contracts, and courts treat an at-will job as one. No employer-size minimum, no EEOC charge, no damages cap, a four-year deadline. It requires but-for causation, so the evidence has to show race was the reason rather than one factor. For a professional with a large bonus and equity at stake, the absence of a cap matters.
Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, MCL 37.2101, covers every employer in the state, requires no agency filing, allows three years, and does not cap emotional-distress damages. MCL 37.2701 makes retaliation for opposing or reporting discrimination a separate violation, and under Elezovic v. Ford Motor Co., 472 Mich 408 (2005), the manager who did it can be named individually.
The Oakland County trap is the severance packet. A well-drafted release, a number that looks fair, and a 21-day window feel like a resolution. The 300-day EEOC clock keeps running during the negotiation, and a signed release ends every claim in the table. The Michigan employment claim deadlines page lists every clock.
| Claim | Who’s covered | Deadline | Damages |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELCRA (Michigan) | Any employer with 1+ employees; individual managers in some cases | 3 years, direct to circuit court | Back pay, front pay, uncapped emotional distress, attorney fees |
| Title VII | 15+ employees; race, color, national origin | EEOC charge within 300 days, then suit | Back pay; compensatory and punitive capped at $50K–$300K |
| 42 U.S.C. § 1981 | Any employer; race and ethnicity, including at-will jobs | 4 years, no agency step | Back pay, uncapped compensatory and punitive, attorney fees |
Where your Oakland County race discrimination case gets filed
A case pleaded only under ELCRA files in the Oakland County Circuit Court, the 6th Judicial Circuit, at 1200 N. Telegraph Road in Pontiac, before a jury drawn from Troy, Southfield, Farmington Hills, Rochester Hills, and the rest of the county. Add a Title VII or § 1981 count and the employer may remove the case to the Eastern District of Michigan at the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse, 231 W. Lafayette Boulevard, Detroit.
For an Oakland County professional the decision often comes down to damages. Section 1981’s uncapped punitive damages and ELCRA’s uncapped emotional distress each reach something the other does not, and a federal jury and a Pontiac jury are not the same jury. The Oakland County employment lawyer page covers the jury pool and venue. The courthouse does not change with your city: an analyst from Troy, a nurse from Southfield, and an engineer from Farmington Hills all file in Pontiac or Detroit.
The reorganization that arrives after the complaint
Oakland County headquarters rarely fire people for cause after an HR complaint. They restructure. Two months after the complaint a “realignment” is announced, one role is eliminated, a peer absorbs its duties, and the person who complained receives a severance packet with a release inside.
That pattern is a retaliation case if the details line up, and the details are discoverable. Who decided which roles to eliminate, and when was the list first drafted relative to your complaint? Was yours the only position cut at your level? Who took over your accounts, and was a similar role posted within the year? Did the manager you complained about sit in on the restructuring meetings? Was your rating in the HR system changed after the complaint?
Two things to do now. Save the announcement email, the org charts before and after, and the transition plan; those are the exhibits. And do not negotiate the severance yourself over email, because those messages become exhibits too. The release is what the company is buying. Read Michigan severance agreements explained and fired after an HR complaint before you reply.
What to do in the first 72 hours
- Forward yourself the record tonight. Your ratings history, the HR complaint and every reply, the talent-review feedback you were given, the reorganization announcement, and the org charts before and after, to a personal account before your access is cut.
- Leave the confidential business data alone. Take the record of what happened to you, not customer lists, source code, or pricing; taking those turns your case into theirs.
- Write down who got what. The person promoted over you, the peer who absorbed your duties, the coworker with your rating who kept the bonus, with names and dates.
- Request your personnel file in writing. Michigan’s Bullard-Plawecki Employee Right to Know Act requires the employer to let you see and copy it, and the file often shows when the rating was changed.
- Do not sign the severance during the meeting. The consideration period exists so you can get advice, and the number on the page is rarely the value of the release.
- Do not resign in protest. A firing is a cleaner case than a resignation, and constructive discharge is harder to prove.
Oakland County race discrimination questions
I was passed over for a promotion at an Oakland County automotive headquarters for someone with less experience. How do I prove it was race?
Through the comparison and the explanation. Your qualifications against the selected candidate’s, the posted requirements, your ratings history, and the reason the company gave. If the stated reason shifts, does not match the posting, or was never applied to the person chosen, that is evidence of pretext. Talent-review notes and calibration records are discoverable. Write down every posting you applied for, who was selected, and what you were told.
My rating at a Troy office dropped after I complained to HR, but I was not fired. Is a lower rating retaliation?
It can be. Retaliation covers any action that would deter a reasonable employee from complaining, and a rating that costs you a bonus, a raise, or a promotion path qualifies. The question is causation: a rating that fell the cycle after the complaint, with no new incident and a manager who knew about the complaint, supports the claim. Keep every prior rating and the dated complaint.
Is discrimination because of my accent or where I was born the same as race discrimination in Michigan?
Overlapping, not identical. Title VII and Michigan’s ELCRA both prohibit national-origin discrimination, and an accent can be held against you only when it materially interferes with the job. Section 1981 covers race and ethnicity or ancestry but not national origin by itself. Most cases involve more than one, and the claims are pleaded together, so the distinction changes strategy rather than whether you have a case.
I supported a coworker’s race discrimination complaint as a witness at an Oakland County employer and now I am being pushed out. Am I protected?
Yes. Participating in an investigation, giving a statement, or testifying is protected activity under Title VII, Section 1981, and ELCRA, whether or not the underlying complaint succeeds. If the write-ups, schedule changes, or exclusion from projects began after you gave your statement, that is a retaliation claim in your own name. Save the statement you gave, the date, and everything that changed afterward.
Can I bring a race discrimination claim for being paid less than my peers at a Southfield office if I was never fired?
Yes. Pay discrimination because of race violates Title VII, Section 1981, and ELCRA, and no termination is required. Each discriminatory paycheck restarts the Title VII charge deadline. You will need comparators: peers in the same role with similar experience and a higher salary, bonus, or grade. Offer letters, grade bands, and comp statements you lawfully have access to are the starting evidence; discovery fills in the rest.
Talk to a race discrimination lawyer who takes Oakland County cases
If you were passed over, rated down, restructured out, or fired because of your race at an Oakland County headquarters, hospital, or office, or punished for complaining about it, call (313) 701-2448 or schedule a free 15-minute case evaluation. I will tell you whether the documents show a case and which deadline is closest.
Warren Astbury. Harvard Law School, J.D. 2009. Fifteen years in practice, more than 50 cases tried to verdict, employee-side only. Working in another county? See the race discrimination pages for Wayne County, Macomb County, and Washtenaw County.