EEOC Implements Procedure for Releasing Position Statements and Obtaining Responses | Practical Law

EEOC Implements Procedure for Releasing Position Statements and Obtaining Responses | Practical Law

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced the implementation of nationwide procedures for releasing Respondent position statements to Charging Parties on request and obtaining Charging Parties' responses while an EEOC charge is pending.

EEOC Implements Procedure for Releasing Position Statements and Obtaining Responses

Practical Law Legal Update w-001-4537 (Approx. 3 pages)

EEOC Implements Procedure for Releasing Position Statements and Obtaining Responses

by Practical Law Labor & Employment
Published on 22 Feb 2016 • USA (National/Federal)
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced the implementation of nationwide procedures for releasing Respondent position statements to Charging Parties on request and obtaining Charging Parties' responses while an EEOC charge is pending.
In February 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it has implemented nationwide procedures for:
  • Releasing Respondent position statements to Charging Parties on request.
  • Obtaining Charging Parties' responses while an EEOC charge is pending.
The new procedures are intended to provide consistency to this aspect of the investigation process to strengthen EEOC investigations. The new procedures apply to all EEOC requests for position statements made to Respondents on or after January 1, 2016.
The new procedures provide that:
  • A Respondent will generally have 30 days to submit position statements with attachments to the EEOC.
  • A Respondent relying on confidential information should provide the information in separately labeled attachments using the EEOC's new Digital Charge System, instead of faxing or mailing the documents.
  • Following the Respondent's submission of its position statement with attachments, the EEOC will:
    • review the position statement; and
    • redact any confidential information prior to releasing the position statement and non-confidential attachments to the Charging Party.
  • On a Charging Party's request, the EEOC will provide the Respondent's position statement and non-confidential attachments to the Charging Party. The Charging Party will then have 20 days to respond. The Charging Party's response will not be provided to the Respondent during the investigation.
Along with its announcement of the new procedures, the EEOC released two sets of "Questions and Answers" about the procedures, one for Charging Parties and one for Respondents.