On January 11, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) provided the Federal Register with its final rules aimed at updating the conciliation process. Conciliation is a voluntary process aimed at resolving employment discrimination charges in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Currently, less than half of the charges where the EEOC determines claims of discrimination to be founded utilize conciliation.  Failure to participate in conciliation can lead to the EEOC pursuing litigation against the employer/respondent. The revisions to the conciliation procedures aim to create a more transparent process that will afford the respondent/employer with more information as to the EEOC determination. The hope is that this transparency will provide information to allow the respondent/employer to better understand their case and the need to move forward with resolution in a timely manner. In the end, the goal is to increase participation in the conciliation process, and through this achieving the end-goal of the EEOC, extinguishing employment discrimination.

For more information on the changes to the conciliation process and its potential implications on your entity please contact your Tressler attorney.  

For more information about this article, contact Tressler attorney Elizabeth Wagman at ewagman@tresslerllp.com.