Hohmann v. Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Hohmann v. Seyfarth Shaw LLP: Case Summary

What Happened
An employee filed a discrimination lawsuit against her employer, the law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP, and individual managers at the company. She claimed she had been discriminated against based on a protected characteristic.

What the Court Decided
The court dismissed the case without ruling on whether discrimination actually occurred. The reason: the employee had not named the individual managers in her complaints to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) before filing her lawsuit. Both state and federal law require workers to file administrative complaints first and name all parties involved before going to court.

Why This Matters for Workers
This case highlights an important procedural requirement for discrimination claims. If you believe you've experienced workplace discrimination, you must file a complaint with the appropriate government agency (like the EEOC) *before* filing a lawsuit, and you need to identify everyone involved—including individual supervisors and managers—in that initial complaint. Failing to do this can result in your case being dismissed, even before the court examines the merits of your discrimination claim.