News and Information

EEOC Proposed Rule Amends Procedural Regulations

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has proposed a rule amending its procedural regulations including the following:

Digital Document Transmission

• Explicitly stating that all parties involved in discrimination charges filed with the EEOC may electronically transmit documents, including notices of charges, through its digital intake system piloted in 2017.

Deferrals to State and Local Agencies

• Clarifies the filing deadline for charges filed in locations where a state or local fair employment practices agency exists but does not have “jurisdiction over the statutory basis alleged in the charge”; this filing deadline is 180 days. 

Closing Communication

• Clarifies that:
  • dismissal of a charge includes notice of the charging party’s statutory right to file a lawsuit; and
  • a “no-cause” determination by the EEOC does not mean the claims have no merit

Delegation of Authority to Issue “Dismissal and Notice of Rights”

• Permits EEOC district, field, area and local office directors to delegate to other EEOC employees the authority to issue dismissals
  and
• Permits the Commission or director of an office issuing a dismissal to reconsider that determination and to issue a notice of intent to reconsider even if the 90-day period for filing suit has already expired

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) charges:

• The written ADEA charge “need not identify by name the person on whose behalf it is made,” although the name must be disclosed to the EEOC

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published on February 22, 2019 in the Federal Register; the public has 60 days (or until April 23, 2019) to offer comments. For additional information, see the EEOC press release.