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General questions and answers about the EEOC and FEPA's including what these organizations do, what to expect and how to set yourself up for success.
Who Is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)?
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is the federal agency responsible for investigating charges of discrimination against employers. While the EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws related to discrimination and civil rights in the workplace, they are expected to be fair to both employees and employers.
As a result, you should not expect the EEOC to act as your personal attorney or advocate. The only exception is if the EEOC decides to pursue litigation after confirming a violation occurred and after all attempts at negotiating a settlement have failed. However, the EEOC litigates very few cases and this outcome is not guaranteed even when violations are found.
What is a Fair Employment Practice Agency (FEPA)?
Fair Employment Practice Agencies are the state and local agencies doing similar work to the EEOC. While the specific processes may vary by state and not every state has a dedicated agency, those that exist investigate claims of discrimination and retaliation. If evidence of wrongdoing is found many states offer mediation and can move forward with litigation against employers as needed.
Many states also participate in dual-filing which means that if you file with the agency, they’ll simultaneously file a case with the EEOC on your behalf.
What Happens After I File with the EEOC?
The EEOC provides a great flow chart of the possible paths a case can take once filed.
How Long Does It Take for the EEOC to Complete An Investigation?
Per the EEOC, an investigation takes approximately 10 months. However this time can be reduced to as little as 3 months with mediation.
Are EEOC and FEPA Investigators Also Lawyers?
No, investigators are not employment lawyers. While these agencies have lawyers on staff, you will not work with those lawyers directly unless they move forward with litigating your case (which they do in a very limited amount of cases per year).
The investigators are able to leverage their internal lawyers to ask questions about your case as needed, but they can and do make mistakes or give incorrect information. This was the case in my situation and had I not had a lawyer of my own who could reference the specific law they were misinformed on, I would not have realized this.
Are EEOC and FEPA Investigators Fair?
They are as fair as they can be. There is a lot of frustration with agencies like the EEOC, because of how rarely they rule in the employees favor, but it’s important to remember they’re overwhelmed with cases and understaffed -- it's not their fault that government funding gives them limited time to review your claims before making a decision.
It is also important to remember that on the opposite side of you is an employment lawyer with experience, who is not only familiar with the process, but also how to manipulate facts and evidence to fit the employer’s narrative. If you’re going to fight this isn’t a situation where you should go in with nothing but your words and claims and hope the EEOC finds evidence of harm done.
If your investigator has one hour to review your claims vs. your employers and yours are chaotic and hard to follow while the employer’s arguments are organized, direct and concise – who do you think will win?
This is why we’ve created JustiProof, to guide you not only through what to collect and how to document, but how to deliver all that information in a way that your investigator can follow your claims and understand how the evidence and facts support them.
How Often Do These Agencies Rule in the Employees Favor?
This percentage can vary by state, but at the federal level, the EEOC only found reasonable cause in 2.3% of case filings in 2023. However, there is nuance here given the high rate of settlements for strong cases. We dive into the details and explain this further in our post How Many Employees Actually Win Their EEOC cases?
Will the EEOC help me negotiate a settlement?
If the EEOC finds reasonable cause after your investigation is complete, the EEOC will offer conciliation discussions to both the employee and employer to negotiate a mutually agreed upon remedy. Given the reasonable cause finding, the EEOC will work with you and the investigator to determine an appropriate remedy for the discrimination you experienced and join you as a participant in the negotiations.
However, if the EEOC has not yet concluded their investigations, the EEOC will not attend or act as a participant. These negotiations are referred to as mediation and will be attended only by yourself, the employer, legal representation (if you or your employer are represented) and the neutral, objective mediator.
How Can I Set Myself Up To Win My Discrimination Case?
If you can, we recommend trying to retain legal counsel on contingency. However, we know not everyone is able to find an attorney to take their case on contingency and many employees can’t afford to pay for one out of pocket so we wrote up our 7 Tips For Winning Your EEOC Case Without A Lawyer.
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