EEOC Charges Demystified: What To Expect When Investigators Come Knocking

by Gary S. Young on June 27, 2012

Receiving a complaint letter from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) can be unsettling, even when you believe such claim to be baseless. As New York and New Jersey employment attorneys, we want to alleviate some of the uncertainty by providing a brief overview of the EEOC complaint process.

When a charge is filed against you under federal law, the EEOC is the federal governmental agency charged with administrative responsibility for discrimination claims, and it must notify you within ten days of the filing. A charge does not constitute a finding that your company engaged in discrimination. Rather, the EEOC is obligated to investigate and determine whether there is a reasonable cause to believe discrimination occurred. Please note that each state has similar discrimination laws and each state maintains similar administrative agencies to process discrimination claims. Procedure under state law may vary from federal procedures, however.