Government Shutdown

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is currently closed because of the federal government shutdown.

While the federal government is closed, a limited number of EEOC services are available. Please note during the shutdown, we are not able to staff our toll-free numbers: 1-800-669-4000 (voice); 1-800-669-6820 (TTY); or 1-844-234-5122 (ASL Video Phone). If you are trying to contact the EEOC, or have existing business with the agency, please refer to the following information. All EEOC digital portals will be closed and will not be accessible to the public.

Employment Discrimination Charges

The U.S. EEOC enforces the federal laws that prohibit job discrimination based on race; color; religion; sex; national origin; age; disability; genetic information; or based on retaliation for filing a charge of job discrimination, participating in an investigation of a job discrimination complaint, or opposing job discrimination.

Filing a Charge

If you are trying to file a charge of discrimination against a private employer or a state or local government employer, please remember that there are specific time limits. The time limits depend on where the employer is located or where the alleged discrimination took place. Generally, charges have to be filed within 300 days of the incident. However, if you are in a state where there is no state fair employment practice agency (North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, or Arkansas), the time limit for filing a charge is 180 days. These time limits may not be extended because of the shut-down.

If you are within 30 days of your time expiring or you are unsure when your time expires, you should not wait until we reopen to begin the process. Please go to part B below.

You can begin the process of filing a charge by submitting a Pre-Charge Inquiry. The EEOC will be accepting these inquiries about possible job discrimination during the federal government shutdown. However, during the shutdown, the EEOC Public Portal will not be available for you to submit an Inquiry online. Instead, you can download the EEOC Pre-Charge Inquiry, complete it, and mail, drop-off, or fax it to the EEOC office closest to you. Your answers on the Pre-Charge Inquiry will help us see if your concerns are covered by the laws we enforce. Please refer to the list of EEOC offices, below, to find the closest office. If it appears that the time limit for filing a charge will expire within 30 days, we will contact you immediately so that a charge can be filed even though the government is shut down. Otherwise, we will be contacting you to discuss your inquiry once the federal government reopens.
If you are within 30 days of your time expiring, you may file a charge by sending us a letter, which must be dated and signed in writing (not typed) and must include the following:
1. Your name, address and phone number (email address would be helpful but is not required);
2. The name, address and phone number of the employer, union, employment agency or other organization you think discriminated against you;
3. The job action you think was discriminatory, when it occurred, and the reason it was taken (whether it was based on race; color; religion; sex; national origin; age; disability; genetic information; or based on retaliation for filing a charge of job discrimination, participating in an investigation of a job discrimination complaint, or opposing job discrimination; or for another reason).
4. A request for the EEOC to take remedial action.

Please note that once you file a charge of job discrimination, the EEOC is required by law to notify the employer who is named in your charge of discrimination. The notice of your charge will include your name as well as your claims of discrimination.

We will not be able to investigate your charge during the shutdown. When the federal government reopens, we will contact you to discuss the claims in your charge.

Intake Interviews

During the time that EEOC is shut down, we will cancel intake interviews on a daily basis. We will cancel the interview a day in advance of the scheduled interview through email notification. Cancelled intake interviews will have to be rescheduled once the EEOC reopens. If you are within 30 days of the time expiring for filing a charge, we will contact you and conduct an intake interview.

Pending Charges

We will not be able to respond to inquiries about pending charges during the shutdown.

When the federal government reopens, you may check the status of your charge on www.eeoc.gov or by calling the office where your charge is being investigated.

Requests for Reconsideration

During the shutdown of the federal government, the EEOC will be accepting requests for reconsideration but the EEOC will not be able to take any action on them. When the federal government reopens, we will review any pending requests. However, if you have received notice of your right to sue, please be advised that the time limits for filing your case in court are not suspended while the request is pending. If you do not file suit within the time period, as explained in the dismissal letter, you will lose the right to do so.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests and Appeals:

After the federal government shutdown ends and EEOC reopens for business we will begin responding to your messages left for the FOIA Requester Service Center, 202- 663-4500, and/or the FOIA Public Liaison, 202-663-4634, in the order in which they were received. Depending on the volume of messages received, it may take as long as 10 business days following EEOC's reopening to respond to your message.

FOIA Requests for Charge Files by Charging Parties: If you have received your 90-day notice of right to sue, please do not wait until the government reopens to submit a FOIA request for your charge file. If you do not request your charge file within the 90-day notice period, you will lose the right of access to your charge file without first filing a lawsuit in court on the charge. We urge you to timely submit your FOIA requests for charge files to EEOC by email to FOIA@eeoc.gov, or by fax to 202-653-6056. FOIA requests may also be submitted to the EEOC by U.S. mail, but the federal government shutdown will delay their receipt. All requests are deemed "received" on the date they are received by an EEOC FOIA component, except those received on Saturdays, Sundays, federal public holidays or after close of business hours, which are deemed "received" on the next business day.

EEOC will accept all FOIA requests during the federal government shutdown, but EEOC will not be able to process FOIAs until after the federal government reopens. A request may be submitted online by email to FOIA@eeoc.gov, or by fax to 202-653-6056. A request may also be submitted to EEOC by U.S. mail, but the federal government shutdown will delay receipt.

Mediation - Private and Federal Sector

Mediations scheduled to occur during the period that the federal government is closed are cancelled until further notice. This directive applies to mediation of private sector cases and mediation of Federal sector cases. When federal government operations resume, mediators will contact the parties in each matter to reschedule the mediation.

Federal Sector Hearings

EEOC will accept Federal Sector hearing requests during the shutdown. For parties involved in the federal hearings program, any hearing/proceeding before an Administrative Judge (AJ) (settlement conference, pre-hearing conference, mediation, hearing on a motion, or hearing on the merits) will be postponed until further notice. Similarly, deadlines for completing discovery or submitting motions are also suspended during the federal government shutdown. For any matters that were scheduled and postponed due to the shutdown, the parties should contact the AJ to reschedule. Regarding deadlines for discovery or to submit motions, the general rule will be that applicable deadlines will be extended by the number of days the government is shut down. AJs have discretion to modify deadlines as appropriate.

Federal Sector Appeals & Requests for Reconsideration

EEOC will accept Federal Sector appeals and requests for reconsideration during the shutdown. Please continue to follow the instructions given on the agency's final order or the EEOC decision. We suggest all appeals and requests for reconsideration be sent by regular mail and not by facsimile. Regarding deadlines for briefs and complaint file submissions, the general rule will be that applicable deadlines will be extended by the number of days the government is shut down. This does not apply, however, to any deadlines that passed before the date of the shutdown.

Litigation

Litigation will be suspended unless a continuance has not been granted by the court.

Outreach

All EEOC-sponsored outreach events are postponed during the shutdown. Additionally, EEOC staff is unable to participate in any outreach program regardless of the sponsoring organization during the government shutdown.

During the shutdown, information on this website will not be updated. Transactions submitted via the website will not be processed, and EEOC staff will not be able to respond to inquiries submitted to www.eeoc.gov until appropriations are enacted.

Field Office	Address	Fax Number
Albuquerque Area Office	505 Marquette, N.W., Suite 900 Albuquerque, NM 87102	505-248-5233
Atlanta District Office	100 Alabama Street, SW., Suite 4R20 Atlanta, GA 30303	404-562-6909/6966
Baltimore Field Office	City Crescent Building 10 South Howard Street, 3rd Floor Baltimore, MD 21201	410-209-2221
Birmingham District Office	Ridge Park Place 1130 22nd Street South, Suite 2000 Birmingham, AL 35205-2397	205-212-2105
Boston Area Office	JFK Federal Building, Government Center, 4th Floor, Room 475 Boston, MA 02203-0506	617-565-3196
Buffalo Local Office	6 Fountain Plaza, Suite 350 Buffalo, NY 14202	716-551-4387
Charlotte District Office	129 West Trade Street, Suite 400 Charlotte, NC 28202	704-954-6410
Chicago District Office	500 West Madison Street, Suite 2000 Chicago, IL 60661	312-869-8200
Cincinnati Area Office	John W. Peck Federal Office Building 550 Main Street, Suite 10-019 Cincinnati, OH 45202-5202	513-684-2361
Cleveland Field Office	Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building 1240 E. 9th Street, Suite 3001 Cleveland, OH 44199	216-522-7395
Dallas District Office	207 S. Houston Street, 3rd Floor Dallas, TX 75202-4726	214-253-2720
Denver Field Office	303 E. 17th Avenue, Suite 410 Denver, CO 80203	303-866-1085
Detroit Field Office	477 Michigan Avenue, Room 865 Detroit, MI 48226-9704	313-226-2778
El Paso Area Office	100 N. Stanton St., Suite 600 El Paso, TX 79901	915-534-6701
Fresno Local Office	2500 Tulare Street, Suite 2601 Fresno, CA 93721	559-487-5053
Greensboro Local Office	2303 W. Meadowview Road, Suite 201 Greensboro, NC 27407	336-547-4032
Greenville Local Office	301 N. Main Street, Suite 1402 Greenville, SC 29601	864-241-4416
Honolulu Local Office	300 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 4-257 Honolulu, HI 96850	808-541-3390
Houston District Office	Mickey Leland Federal Building 1919 Smith Street, 7th Floor Houston, TX 77022	713-651-4902
Indianapolis District Office	101 West Ohio Street, Suite 1900 Indianapolis, IN 46204-4203	317-226-7953
Jackson Area Office	Dr. A.H. McCoy Federal Building 100 West Capitol Street, Suite 207 Jackson, MS 39269	601-948-8401
Kansas City Area Office	Gateway Tower II 400 State Avenue, Suite 905 Kansas City, KS 66101	913-551-6956
Las Vegas Local Office	333 Las Vegas Blvd., South, Suite 5560 Las Vegas, NV 89101	702-388-5094
Little Rock Area Office	820 Louisiana Street, Suite 200 Little Rock, AR 72201	501-324-5991
Los Angeles District Office	255 E. Temple Street, 4th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90012	213-894-1459
Louisville Area Office	600 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Place, Suite 268 Louisville, KY 40202	502-582-5895
Memphis District Office	1407 Union Avenue, 9th Floor Memphis, TN 38104	901-544-0111
Miami District Office	100 SE 2nd Street, Suite 1500 Miami, FL 33131	305-536-4011
Milwaukee Area Office	310 West Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 500 Milwaukee, WI 53203-2292	414-297-4133
Minneapolis Area Office	330 South Second Avenue, Suite 720 Minneapolis, MN 55401-2224	612-335-4044
Mobile Local Office	63 South Royal Street, Suite 504 Mobile, AL 36602	251-690-2581
Nashville Area Office	220 Athens Way, Suite 350 Nashville, TN 37228	615-736-2107
New Orleans Field Office	Hale Boggs Federal Building 500 Poydras Street, Room 809 New Orleans, LA 70130	504-595-2884
New York District Office	33 Whitehall Street, 5th Floor New York, NY 10004-2112	212-336-3621
Newark Area Office	1 Newark Center, 21st Floor Newark, NJ 07102-5233	973-645-4524
Norfolk Local Office	Federal Building, 200 Granby Street, Suite 739 Norfolk, VA 23510	757-441-6720
Oakland Local Office	1301 Clay Street, Suite 1170-N Oakland, CA 94612-5217	510-637-3235
Oklahoma City Area Office	215 Dean A. McGee Avenue, Suite 524 Oklahoma City, OK 73102	405-231-5485
Philadelphia District Office	801 Market Street, 13th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103	215-440-2632
Phoenix District Office	3300 N. Central Avenue, Suite 690 Phoenix, AZ 85012-2504	602-640-5071
Pittsburgh Area Office	William S. Moorhead Federal Building 1000 Liberty Avenue, Suite 1112 Pittsburgh, PA 15222	412-395-5749
Raleigh Area Office	434 Fayetteville St., Suite 700 Raleigh, NC 27601-1701	919-856-4151
Richmond Local Office	400 North 8th Street, Suite 350 Richmond, VA 23219	804-771-2224
San Antonio Field Office	5410 Fredericksburg Road, Suite 200 San Antonio, TX 78229-3555	210-281-7690
San Diego Local Office	555 West Beech Street, Suite 504 San Diego, CA 92101	619-557-7274
San Francisco District Office	Philip Burton Federal Building, Suite 5000 450 Golden Gate Avenue San Francisco, CA 94102-3661	415-522-3415
San Jose Local Office	96 North 3rd Street, Suite 250 San Jose, CA 95112	408-291-4539
San Juan Local Office	525 F.D. Roosevelt Avenue, Suite 1202 San Juan, PR 00918-8001	787-771-1485
Savannah Local Office	7391 Hodgson, Suite 200 Savannah, GA 31406-2579	912-652-4205
Seattle Field Office	909 First Avenue, Suite 400 Seattle, WA 98104-6870	206-220-6911
St. Louis District Office	Robert A. Young Building 1222 Spruce Street, Room 8100 St. Louis, MO 63103	314-539-7893
Tampa Field Office	501 East Polk Street, Room 1000 Tampa, FL 33602	813-228-2841
Washington Field Office	131 M. Street, NE, 4th Floor Washington, D.C. 20507	202-419-0739 & 0701