File an EEOC Complaint

A discrimination complaint must be filed within 15 days of receiving notice from an EEO counselor about the complaint. You should receive a notice after a final interview. File your complaint at the same office that you met with the counselor.

Note: The 15-day deadline is based on calendar days, starting the day after you receive your notice. If the 15th day lands on a weekend or federal holiday, then the deadline is the next business day.

5 Necessities to Include in the EEOC Complaint

To file your EEOC complaint, you must ensure that your paperwork includes the five specific items. Without these five things, your complaint may not have enough information to be processed thoroughly. Give your case its best foot forward.

Your EEOC complaint must contain the following:

file an EEOC complaint

  • Your Contact Information
    • Name
    • Address
    • Telephone number
  • A Short Description of the Events
    • Share what happened that made you feel discriminated against, whether a demotion, firing, or harassment
  • The Why of the Discrimination
    • Explain your reasoning for why you’ve faced discrimination
    • Your legally protected class
  • Short Description of any Injury
    • Explain how you’ve suffered due to the discrimination
  • Your Signature (or your lawyer’s signature).

After the EEOC Complaint is Filed

You will receive a letter that confirms the receipt of the complaint. From there, your complaint is evaluated to determine whether it should be dismissed due to skipping a procedure (such as filing too late). A dismissal can be appealed. But you only have a 30-day deadline.

The agency will then investigate your complaint.

 

Note: Sometimes only a portion of the complaint will be dismissed while the rest continues to be investigated. The final conclusion must be given before a partial dismissal can be appealed.

In some cases, an agency will dismiss only part of the complaint and continue processing the rest. In this situation, you must wait until the agency issues its final order on all the claims in your complaint before appealing the partial dismissal.