When you respond to an EEOC charge, open strong

Position statement openings are the beginning of your corporate response to the EEOC charge

Respond to the EEOC charge early with a firm denial
You’re going to start with your opening statement, which is a firm denial of the EEOC charge and a brief summary of the company’s position. For example, this position statement response to the EEOC charge of discrimination filed by – the name of the complainant — against the company in which complainant alleges that he was discharged because of his and then fill in the blank, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, et cetera.

The company vehemently denies the EEOC charge as explained in more detail below. Complainant was discharged because of – and then insert a brief summary of why that person was discharged, for example, excessive absenteeism over an extended period of time, a physical altercation with a co-worker, failure to show up for work three days in a row, whatever it is. So, right upfront someone has a summary of where you’re going with this.

Include a brief company description.
You want to explain the nature of the company’s business because that will help put things into context. And again, remember, that the agency usually knows very little or nothing at all about the nature of your business.

A short paragraph or two explaining it is going to set the stage for your later explanation of why the decisions the company made regarding the complainant were reasonable and don’t justify an EEOC charge.

For example, if the complainant was a driver for your company who was discharged for failing a drug test, you want to first explain the nature of the company’s shipping or delivery business and the type of vehicles used by the company’s drivers. That would put the serious nature of the complainant’s violation into context. You don’t need to explain every nuance component of what your company does but a summary would be helpful.

Edited remarks from the Rapid Learning Institute webinar: “In EEOC’s Crosshairs? How to Prepare an Airtight Response and Avoid Costly Payouts” by Alyssa T. Senzel on February 04, 2009