Strong position statements help companies win an EEOC complaint
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Strong position statements help companies win an EEOC complaint

The position statement tells your side of the story in an EEOC complaint

This is your written explanation of the nondiscriminatory reasons you have for the adverse employment action you took that the complainant is complaining about.

Think of the EEOC complaint response in terms of a story. It should be clear, it should be concise and it should be persuasive.

Make your EEOC complaint position statement a compelling story
For one thing, you want to tell a story. Avoid a rambling history of the world, the, you know, the beginning of your company up until now. You want to use clear language. The EEOC is not going to understand your company’s jargon and it’s just going to make things look muddy and confusing.

Check your facts.
And then checks your facts again, and then double check your facts before you write them down in an EEOC complaint response. You really want to press to make sure you’ve got your data right.

Sure, you could always go back and correct the mistake in your position statement but it’s best to have it right upfront so you don’t have to do that. You never want to be explaining where you don’t need to.

Tell the full story of the EEOC complaint.
Don’t hide pieces that the complainant or charging party is going to come forward with and it’s going to make it look like you were being secretive or trying to leave something out that was really vital to their side.

Be persuasive with your arguments against the EEOC complaint .
Focus on the issue raised in the charge. There’s no need to open up a can of worms by talking about 14 other things that don’t really relate to what the charging party was raising but you think would just be good to toss in there. So really, really be focused and laser like in what you’re doing.

Information to include in your EEOC complaint rebuttal.
We know what the company does. We know what the policies are. Then you want to explain the complainant’s employment history with the company and the nondiscriminatory reasons for the adverse employment actions.

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 8-5-08

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