If a discrimination charge lands on your desk today, you may have 15 days to respond, not 30.
Since this summer, a growing number of EEOC charge notices have set a 15-day deadline for employer position statements. The agency hasn’t announced a formal policy change, and its website still says employers generally have 30 days. But the deadline that counts is the one printed on the notice you receive, and more of those notices now say 15.
What Changed
For years, employers could count on about 30 days to submit a position statement, and extensions were easy to get. That’s no longer a safe assumption.
Some EEOC offices are now allowing only one short extension of 7 to 10 days. Others are denying extension requests outright. Practice varies by office, so two dealerships in different states could get very different treatment on the same day.
Why It Matters
The position statement is your first chance to tell your side of the story. It answers every allegation, lays out your defenses and attaches the documents that support them.
Fifteen days is not much time to do that well. In that window, someone has to pull the employee’s file, find the write-ups, interview the managers involved and get it all to counsel. At a dealership, that might mean tracking down a sales manager who’s off on Mondays or a service director whose disciplinary notes live in a desk drawer instead of the HR system.
Missing the deadline has real consequences. When a position statement is late or never arrives, the EEOC can move forward with only the employee’s account and may issue a cause finding, a determination that there is reasonable cause to believe discrimination occurred. That can lead to conciliation or litigation.
What to Do Now
- Check the deadline on every notice. Don’t calculate it yourself, and don’t assume 30 days.
- Get your records in order before a charge arrives. Personnel files, disciplinary documentation, policies and training records should be complete and easy to find.
- Know who will respond. Identify which HR staff and managers would need to act quickly, and make sure they know it.
- Call counsel the day a charge comes in. If you need an extension, ask early. Waiting until day 13 leaves no room if the request is denied.
Be Ready Before Day One
A 15-day deadline is manageable if the work is already done. The dealerships that struggle will be the ones starting from scratch, hunting for a write-up from two years ago while the clock runs.
Talk to KPA about getting your HR documentation audit-ready.
