Have you filed a complaint with the EEOC and are experiencing unreasonable delays in coming to a resolution? Watch this video by experienced Phoenix employment lawyer James Green to learn more about EEOC delays and what you can do to help speed up the process. Read Our FREE Employment Law Guide
Many of our clients are frustrated by the EEOC process. A lot of it is not necessarily EEOC’s fault. Currently, staffing levels at EEOC are at historic lows. I think they currently have 11 investigators in the Phoenix district office. They’re supposed to have about 33. They currently have two mediators in the EEOC office. They typically have four or more. They also don’t even have their supervisor.
Right now, a lot of investigations are taking a lot longer than they typically would take and that frustrates a lot of people. It’s frustrating to us as well because we want EEOC to wrap up the investigation and make a cause finding so that we can pursue it. These investigations typically take anywhere from six months to as long as four or even five years for EEOC to complete. That’s a long time. Again, it’s frustrating for everybody.
What we prefer to do is have the EEOC finish that process because we want EEOC to make a cause finding. If the EEOC makes a cause finding, then they will be issued a letter of determination. This letter of determination is something that we can use in court as evidence that the company committed some form of wrong.
One benefit that we have here at this law firm that others don’t is that we know many of the EEOC investigators that are former co-workers. Many of them are our friends. That won’t necessarily help you with getting a cause finding, but it is helpful when we can call them and say what’s taking so long? What can we do to speed this up? What information can I provide you? Do you need a list of witnesses’ phone numbers? I can provide you with affidavits. There are certain things that we can do to help speed up that process and make it easier for them to reach a decision in your case.
Another thing that we do is when the company responds to a charge of discrimination, it’s something that’s called the position statement. A position statement can be anywhere from five to ten pages long, and it’s the company’s response to the allegations in the charge of discrimination. What we do is we ask EEOC for a copy of that position statement and then we work with our clients to draft a rebuttal to the position statement. Then we send that rebuttal to EEOC. Oftentimes, we also send a copy of it to the employer and ask that they pay a certain demand for the harm that they have caused our client.
Again, that helps speed up the process because EEOC’s investigator can look at our response and see what witnesses need to be interviewed. What information is likely to need to come from those witnesses? It can help them in their analysis when they’re drafting their memorandum to their supervisors, to make a determination in their case.
Again, if you are experiencing EEOC delays, I recommend contacting an experienced employment lawyer in Phoenix to handle your case, and particularly in these matters we can really help speed up the process and make it easier for you to reach a conclusion in your case.
Are you experiencing EEOC delays that are negatively impacting your ability to make a living? Contact our experienced Phoenix employment lawyers to find out what options are available to expedite a resolution. We offer free confidential consultations and will fight to ensure your rights are protected.
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