©2026 Seyfarth Shaw LLP EEOC-INITIATED LITIGATION: 2026 EDITION | 78 Duration of Conciliation. If you are an employer that has responded to a charge and just received a letter of determination, how long can you expect the EEOC to engage in conciliation? According to our analysis, the median time spent in conciliation is 53 days. For most employers, the EEOC will declare that conciliation has failed in three months or less. In some instances, however, conciliation has lasted for years. As described above, a longer conciliation process is likely to benefit employers, because it generally reflects that both sides are trying to reach an agreement. Employers are more likely to spend longer in conciliation when dealing with the EEOC’s District Offices in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Phoenix and Chicago. Conciliation moves faster in the EEOC’s District Offices in San Francisco, Dallas, Memphis, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. Time from the Failure of Conciliation to Filing a Complaint. The common assumption among employers is that it is a race to the courthouse once the EEOC deems conciliation failed, but our analysis suggests otherwise. Only about 5.7% of complaints are filed within the first month, and the median time from the notice of conciliation failure to filing of a complaint is nearly five times that: 147 days. The quickest to file are the EEOC District Offices in Dallas, New York, Washington DC, Chicago, and Birmingham. The EEOC moves most slowly in its District Offices in Los Angeles, , Memphis, Houston, Atlanta and St. Louis. Time from Determination to Litigation. Taking both of these together, how much time can an employer expect to pass from determination to the start of litigation? Our analysis found that employers can expect to have an average of 10 months (shortest time 2 months) before the complaint is filed, and that timeline is not uncommon. The median time from determination to complaint is 245 days. Charges move most quickly to court in the EEOC’s District Offices in Dallas, Washington DC, Miami, and Philadelphia. The EEOC moves most slowly in its District Offices in Houston, Los Angeles, Memphis, St. Louis and Atlanta. B. Consent Decrees 1. General Description of a Consent Decree If conciliation fails and the EEOC chooses to file a federal court complaint, the only way a matter can be mutually resolved (at least according to the EEOC) is a Consent Decree. A Consent Decree is a legally binding agreement, negotiated between the EEOC and the employer defendant, and ordered by the presiding Court. The proposed Decree and the Order entering the Decree are filed in open court and are a matter of public record. Critically, a Consent Decree cannot be confidential. The public nature of the settlement of an EEOC-initiated case is one of the biggest differences between an agency action and private litigation, and can be a source of surprise and frustration for employer defendants, where confidentiality is typically an essential term of any settlement. ©2026 Seyfarth Shaw LLP Most Time for Conciliation: • Los Angeles (214 days) • St. Louis (109 days) • Atlanta (100 days) • Indianapolis (98 days) According to our analysis of complaints filed in EEOC District Offices in FY 2025: Least Time for Conciliation: • San Francisco (32 days) • Dallas (35 days) • Memphis (36 days) • Philadelphia (52 days) 83 Average days spent in conciliation
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