EEOC cuts position statement deadline to 15 days: What employers should do now

Employers facing a discrimination charge now have far less time to respond than they traditionally have. According to a recent Bloomberg Law report, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has cut the time for respondents to file position statements to 15 days, half the 30 days employers have long relied on. The agency hasn’t formally announced the change, but EEOC district offices, including in Colorado, are already sending requests with the shorter 15-day deadline.

What changed

The shorter deadline comes with less flexibility. Historically, a good-cause request typically bought an employer weeks of additional time, and practice differed from office to office. Under the new approach, employers should plan on getting one short extension, which, based on this practitioner’s experience, has been no more than 10 days at most. 

The irony is that the EEOC’s side of the process hasn’t accelerated. A position statement filed on day 15 may still sit for a month or more before an investigator picks up the file.

Why it matters

A late position statement doesn’t mean the employer loses the charge, but silence is costly. The EEOC can press for the information through follow-up requests and, if necessary, a subpoena, and it may ultimately evaluate the charge with nothing in front of it but the employee’s version of events.