EEOC Charge
A formal complaint filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging employment discrimination under federal law (Title VII, ADA, ADEA, GINA, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, EPA). Generally required as an administrative prerequisite before filing federal-court suit on Title VII and similar claims, but not for Equal Pay Act claims, which may be filed directly in court. Filing deadline: 180 days from the discriminatory act where no state or local agency enforces a comparable law; 300 days where one does (including Texas through TWC-CRD work-share). Triggers EEOC investigation, conciliation, and right-to-sue letter.
An EEOC Charge is a formal complaint filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging employment discrimination under federal law, Title VII (race, color, religion, sex, national origin), the ADA, the ADEA, GINA, and the Equal Pay Act. Filing an EEOC charge is generally required as an administrative prerequisite before filing federal-court suit on Title VII and similar claims. The EEOC charge process serves multiple purposes: notice to the employer, EEOC investigation, conciliation opportunity, and (if no resolution) issuance of right-to-sue letter authorizing litigation.
Filing deadlines
EEOC charge filing deadlines: (1) 180 days from the discriminatory act where no state or local agency enforces a comparable law; (2) 300 days in deferral states (including Texas) where state has a parallel state-law agency with work-sharing agreement with EEOC. The Texas deferral arrangement extends Texas EEOC charges to the 300-day deadline. Late charges are generally barred, although equitable doctrines such as tolling can apply. Under Morgan, each discrete act, such as a termination or a denied promotion, starts its own filing period, and discrete acts outside the period are time-barred even if related to timely ones. A hostile-work-environment claim is timely if at least one act that is part of it falls within the period.
The charge filing process
EEOC charge process: (1) intake, charge filed with EEOC field office, online portal, or by mail; (2) charge processing; (3) employer notice, EEOC notifies employer and requests position statement; (4) investigation; (5) finding, "reasonable cause" or "no reasonable cause"; (6) conciliation, for reasonable-cause findings; (7) litigation or right-to-sue.
Right to sue letter
The right-to-sue letter authorizes the charging party to file federal-court suit on Title VII, ADA, GINA and Pregnant Workers Fairness Act claims. Equal Pay Act claims need no charge or right-to-sue letter and must be filed within two years (three if the violation was willful). Key procedural points: (1) 180-day rule, charging party can request right-to-sue letter 180 days after charge filing; (2) 90-day filing deadline, federal lawsuit must be filed within 90 days of right-to-sue letter receipt; (3) scope, lawsuit can only include claims raised in or reasonably encompassed by the charge; (4) ADEA exception, an ADEA suit may be filed 60 days after the charge without a right-to-sue letter, but if the EEOC dismisses the charge or ends its proceedings, suit must be filed within 90 days after receiving that notice. The 90-day deadline is strict; failure to file within 90 days bars the federal claim.
Texas Workforce Commission coordination
Texas charges are work-shared between the EEOC and the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division (TWC-CRD). Charges filed with either agency are typically deemed filed with both. The work-share extends the EEOC filing deadline to 300 days in Texas. State-law claims under the TCHRA require a complaint with TWC-CRD filed within 180 days of the alleged unlawful practice (300 days for sexual harassment), so a charge filed after day 180 may be timely under federal law and late under state law (Tex. Lab. Code § 21.202). A TCHRA suit must be filed within 60 days after receiving the notice of right to sue and within two years after the complaint was filed (Tex. Lab. Code §§ 21.254, 21.256).
Scope of subsequent litigation
Federal-court lawsuits following EEOC charges are limited to claims that were "raised in or reasonably encompassed by" the charge. Common scope issues: (1) different protected classes; (2) different employment actions; (3) retaliation, where courts differ on whether retaliation occurring after the charge must be separately charged; (4) continuing violations.
For Texas employers and employees, the charge is the gateway to most federal employment discrimination suits, and its timing and content shape what follows. Several deadlines can run at once: 300 days to file an EEOC charge, 180 days to file a TCHRA complaint, 90 days to sue after receiving a federal right-to-sue notice, and 60 days to sue after a TCHRA notice. What the charge says limits the claims a later suit can raise, and the employer's position statement becomes part of a record that can be used in later litigation.