EEOC Dual Filing and FEPA Worksharing: Deadlines and Right to Sue

EEOC dual filing means a single employment discrimination charge is treated as filed with both the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and your state or local Fair Employment Practices Agency (FEPA) at the same time. You submit paperwork to one agency; the worksharing agreement between the two takes care of the rest. The EEOC has these agreements with roughly 90 FEPAs nationwide.¹

How One Charge Reaches Both Agencies

A worksharing agreement is the written arrangement that divides the caseload between the EEOC and a specific FEPA. It sets out which agency investigates which charges, how files move between them, and what happens once one agency finishes.² The basic rule: whichever agency you file with keeps the charge for processing and sends a copy to the other. File with your state agency on a claim covered by federal law, and the FEPA works it while the EEOC gets a copy. File with the EEOC on a claim also covered by state law, and the EEOC works it while the FEPA gets a copy.³

Federal regulations give state and local agencies an exclusive 60-day window to work a charge before the EEOC can step in. Most FEPAs waive that waiting period through their worksharing agreement so the EEOC can begin work immediately when needed.⁴ There’s no separate “dual filing” form to fill out. The single charge is the whole submission.⁵

When Your Charge Qualifies

Dual filing applies when the employer is covered by both federal anti-discrimination law and a state or local equivalent. On the federal side, the coverage thresholds turn on which statute you’re using and how many people work at the employer:

Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act: at least 15 employees.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act: at least 20 employees.⁶

State and local laws often reach further. Many cover employers with fewer than 15 workers, and some jurisdictions protect employees at businesses of any size. State laws sometimes protect categories federal law doesn’t, such as marital status or political affiliation. A charge based only on a state-only category isn’t a federal case at all: the FEPA handles it, and the EEOC is kept informed through the worksharing agreement rather than taking on the claim itself.³

Deadlines and Why Dual Filing Matters

The baseline deadline for filing an EEOC charge is 180 calendar days from the date of the discriminatory act. That deadline extends to 300 calendar days when a state or local agency enforces a law prohibiting the same type of discrimination.⁷ Because most states have their own anti-discrimination statutes, the 300-day window applies to the majority of workers, but don’t assume it applies to you without checking. Missing the deadline can permanently bar the claim.

The Title VII statute ties the longer deadline to a person having “initially instituted proceedings with a State or local agency” with authority over the practice.⁸ Under a worksharing agreement, filing at either agency satisfies that requirement, because the charge is treated as filed with both.

How to File

You choose one agency and file there. The EEOC offers three channels:

Online through the EEOC Public Portal: submit an inquiry, schedule an intake interview, and then complete the charge electronically.⁹
In person at any of the EEOC’s 53 field offices, with or without an appointment.
By mail: a signed letter with your contact information, the employer’s name and address, the approximate number of employees, a description of what happened, when it happened, and why you believe it was discriminatory.⁵

The formal document is EEOC Form 5, “Charge of Discrimination.”¹⁰ Pull together any supporting documents before you start: termination letters, performance reviews, emails, anything that shows the timeline. You’ll get a confirmation with a charge number that identifies your case in communications with both agencies.

Once the charge is filed, the EEOC must notify the employer within 10 days with the date, place, and circumstances of the alleged discrimination.⁸ That “Notice of Charge of Discrimination” goes to the employer. The inter-agency copy to the FEPA (or EEOC) happens separately, through the worksharing agreement.

What Happens After Both Agencies Have the Charge

One agency takes the lead on investigating; the other holds off to avoid conflicting findings. The lead agency interviews witnesses, reviews employer records, and gathers evidence. Expect the investigation itself to average around 10 months.¹¹

When a FEPA handles the investigation, the EEOC reviews the finished work through a process called substantial weight review. This is a quality check that runs one way, not a mutual exchange. The FEPA submits its case file and findings, and the EEOC evaluates whether the investigation had proper jurisdiction, adequate documentation, sound legal reasoning, and appropriate relief where discrimination was found.¹² The EEOC samples closed cases each year. If it rejects more than 5% of a FEPA’s findings by year’s end, or 20% or more in any single quarter, it opens a formal inquiry into that FEPA’s work.¹³

If a FEPA has a contract with the EEOC, you can also ask the EEOC to review the FEPA’s determination on your individual charge. That’s a useful option if you think the state agency got your case wrong.³

Ending the Process and the Right to Sue

You cannot skip the administrative process. Under Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA, you have to file a charge with the EEOC before bringing a lawsuit.⁸ Once the EEOC issues a Notice of Right to Sue under Title VII or the ADA, you have exactly 90 days to file suit. That deadline is strict; miss it and you’re likely barred from going forward.¹⁴ If the EEOC has held your charge for more than 180 days without finishing, you can request a right-to-sue notice rather than wait indefinitely.

People lose real claims here. The letter arrives, you set it aside meaning to call a lawyer next week, and three months disappear. Treat the 90 days as running from the date the letter was mailed.

Age discrimination claims under the ADEA work differently. You don’t need a right-to-sue letter at all. You can file suit 60 days after submitting your EEOC charge, even if the agency hasn’t finished its investigation.

1
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Fact Sheet: The EEOC and FEPA Data-Sharing
2
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. FY 2012 EEOC/FEPA Model Worksharing Agreement
3
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPAs) and Dual Filing
4
eCFR. 29 CFR 1601.13 – Filing; Deferrals to State and Local Agencies
5
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. How to File a Charge of Employment Discrimination
6
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Get the Facts Series: Small Business Information
7
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits For Filing A Charge
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 2000e-5 – Enforcement Provisions
9
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. EEOC Public Portal
10
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. EEOC Form 5 – Charge of Discrimination
11
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. What You Can Expect After You File a Charge
12
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Inspector General. Evaluation of the Management of the EEOC’s State and Local Programs
13
GovInfo. 29 CFR 1601.78 – Evaluation of Designated FEP Agencies Certified by the Commission
14
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Filing a Lawsuit