EEOC Launches Online Charge Status System

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has launched new digital services that improve service to the public, including businesses.
EEOC’s services now include: 1) providing individuals who have filed a charge of discrimination the ability to check the status of their charge online, and 2) providing a portal for businesses to receive and upload documents and communicate with EEOC.
The new Online Charge Status System allows individuals who have filed charges of discrimination with EEOC to track the progress of their charge.
The system provides up-to-date status on individual charges, an overview of the steps that charges follow from intake to resolution, and contact information for EEOC staff assigned to the charge.
With the new system, charging parties can access information about their charge at their convenience, while allowing EEOC staff to focus on investigating charges.
Companies or other entities that have charges of employment discrimination filed against them also can access the system and receive the same information on the status of the charge.
The EEOC has posted an informative flowchart showing the path a charge takes once filed and where it may end up.

The Online Charge Status System is available for charges filed on or after September 2, 2015.
It is not available for charges filed prior to this date or for charges filed with EEOC's state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies.
Why is the EEOC taking this action now?
"Two reasons," says CBIA's HR Counsel Mark Soycher. "One is to realize greater efficiencies with reduced staff, and the other is anticipation of increased complaints based on recent EEOC outreach efforts to workers."
In addition to its new Online Charge Status System, all EEOC offices now use a Digital Charge System, in which employers transmit and receive documents regarding discrimination charges through a secure online portal.
The Digital Charge System provides for faster transmittal of documents and notifications to the employer and EEOC staff to improve communication with EEOC.
EEOC receives over 150,000 inquiries from individuals with questions about workplace discrimination and approximately 90,000 charges per year, making its charge system the agency's most common interaction with the public.
EEOC's Digital Charge System aims to improve service to the public, ease the administrative burden on staff, and reduce the use of paper submissions and files.
Private and public employers, unions and employment agencies will use the Digital Charge System, instead of transmitting paper documents.
EEOC will offer assistance through its toll-free number at 800.669.4000 (TTY: 800.669.6820 or ASL Video Phone 844.234.5122) for those who do not have Internet access to retrieve the information provided in the system or who need language assistance in one of the 150 languages for which the agency offers translations services.