CWC has reached out to all major federal agencies that regulate the workplace to learn how coronavirus operational changes, such as telework policies, may impact employers and other stakeholders. Today, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) notified us that they are working in a 100% telework environment. The agency’s electronic portals are working and they are continuing to conduct intake interviews by phone. In addition, many EEOC offices have sent up email boxes for “fax to email” services for attorneys to submit charges to EEOC.

The EEOC’s portal for respondents is open and the EEOC continues to send notifications and receive position statements through the portal. EEOC staff tell CWC that they will use their portal as fully as possible, perhaps at times in combination with email, to send out resolution documents. The EEOC is also experimenting with conducting mediation sessions remotely, with one office reporting holding four mediation sessions by phone just yesterday.

EEOC staff have also told CWC that they will not be able to operate as efficiently when it comes to handling mail as most offices do not have immediate access to their mail. To help alleviate the impact of this, the EEOC is requesting that all parties using email and the portals as much as possible. 

We’ll continue to monitor agency operational changes. Please let us know if you have any questions.