EEOC: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Explained

By Steve Levine · Updated June 29, 2026 · 7 min read

Quick Answer

The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) is the federal agency that enforces the laws banning workplace discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40+), disability, and genetic information. It investigates worker complaints, can sue employers on behalf of a whole group of workers, and issues the right-to-sue notice an employee needs before filing most federal discrimination lawsuits — which is why an EEOC charge is often the starting point of an employment-discrimination class action settlement.

On this page

What Is the EEOC?
Which Laws Does the EEOC Enforce?
How an EEOC Charge Works
EEOC Cases That Become Class Actions
Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the EEOC?

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or employee. Created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it covers most employers with at least 15 employees (20 for age-discrimination claims) and handles discrimination in hiring, firing, pay, promotion, job assignments, training, benefits, and harassment.

The EEOC does three main things: it takes and investigates discrimination charges from workers, it tries to resolve them through settlement or conciliation, and — when it finds reason to believe the law was broken and cannot settle — it can file suit against the employer in federal court. It also issues the right-to-sue notice that lets a worker file their own lawsuit.

Which Laws Does the EEOC Enforce?

The EEOC enforces the major federal anti-discrimination statutes:

· Title VII of the Civil Rights Act — bans discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), and national origin.
· Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) — protects workers age 40 and older.
· Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title I — bars disability discrimination and requires reasonable accommodation.
· Equal Pay Act — requires equal pay for equal work regardless of sex.
· Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) — bars use of genetic or family-medical-history information in employment decisions.

Many states also have their own fair-employment agencies that enforce parallel state laws, often with broader coverage or longer deadlines than the federal statutes.

How an EEOC Charge Works

For most federal discrimination claims, filing a charge with the EEOC is a required first step before going to court. The basic path is: a worker files a charge, the EEOC notifies the employer and investigates, the agency may invite the parties into mediation or conciliation, and the process ends either in a resolution or in the EEOC issuing a right-to-sue notice.

Deadlines are short and easy to miss. A charge generally must be filed within 180 days of the discriminatory act, extended to 300 days in states that have their own fair-employment agency. Once a worker receives a right-to-sue notice, they typically have 90 days to file a lawsuit. Because these windows are tight, the EEOC process is usually where an employment-discrimination case is won or lost before it ever becomes a class action.

EEOC Cases That Become Class Actions

When discrimination affects a group of workers rather than one individual, the case can grow well beyond a single charge. The EEOC can bring a "pattern-or-practice" lawsuit alleging an employer systematically discriminated against a class of workers, and private plaintiffs can pursue a class action after exhausting the EEOC process. Either route can end in a class-wide settlement that pays everyone affected and forces changes to the employer's practices.

Recent OCA coverage shows how this plays out across protected categories — age, race, sex, and disability:

· Age: the Enterprise Florida $1.8M EEOC age-discrimination settlement resolved claims that management-trainee applicants age 40 and older were screened out.
· Race: the Google $50M race-discrimination class action settlement covered Black and Black+ employees in California and New York.
· Sex: the FBI Training Academy $22.6M sexual-discrimination settlement resolved claims by women washed out of new-agent training.
· Disability/accessibility: the Home Depot ADA point-of-sale accessibility settlement addressed barriers for low-vision shoppers.

These cases sit alongside other employment claims like wage-and-hour class actions, which follow a different legal track (the Fair Labor Standards Act) but often involve the same workforces. You can read the EEOC's own guidance at eeoc.gov.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the EEOC do?

The EEOC enforces federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or employee because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information. It investigates discrimination charges, tries to settle them, can file its own lawsuits on behalf of affected workers, and issues right-to-sue notices.

Do I have to file an EEOC charge before I can sue for job discrimination?

Usually yes. For most federal discrimination claims (Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA), you must first file a charge with the EEOC and receive a right-to-sue notice before you can file a lawsuit in federal court. Deadlines are short — generally 180 days from the discriminatory act, extended to 300 days in states with their own fair-employment agency.

How does an EEOC case become a class action?

When discrimination affects a group of workers rather than one person, the EEOC can bring a pattern-or-practice suit, or private plaintiffs can pursue a class action after exhausting the EEOC process. Either route can resolve in a class-wide settlement that pays everyone affected and changes the employer's practices, not just the individual who first complained.

Does the EEOC decide how much money I get?

No. The EEOC investigates and can sue or help negotiate a resolution, but the amount any worker recovers is set by the settlement agreement or court judgment, not by the agency itself. In a class settlement, the allocation formula in the settlement determines each class member's share.