Received an EEOC Charge Against Your Company? Start With a Clear Plan.

Searching for an EEOC charge against my company in Florida usually means a notice just arrived. A charge is a complaint that any person files with the Florida Commission on Human Relations, including an employee, applicant, or former worker. It says your company treated them unfairly because of a protected trait. A charge is an allegation, not a finding, and the notice sets a response deadline that comes first. This guide explains what the charge means, which laws usually apply, how the steps run, and which early mistakes make a charge harder to resolve. KEW Legal is a Florida business law firm with offices in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach, serving business owners and investors across Miami-Dade and South Florida.

What an EEOC or FCHR charge against your company means

An EEOC charge against my company is a complaint, not a ruling that the company did anything wrong. Any person aggrieved by a violation may file with the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR) or, in lieu of that, with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); the earliest filing date controls. A notice may come from either agency.

The FCHR must investigate complaints under Florida law. Within 180 days after a complaint is filed, it must decide whether there is reasonable cause to believe discrimination occurred. It must promptly notify both the aggrieved person and the respondent (your company) of that decision, the date it was made, and the options available (Fla. Stat. § 760.11).

Florida’s civil rights law covers employers with 15 or more employees for each working day in 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year (Fla. Stat. § 760.02). If your company meets that count, the state law can apply to the charge.

Receiving a charge is stressful, and it is rarely expected. Find the response date in the notice first. Everything else follows from that date.

Which laws and protected categories are usually involved

Florida’s civil rights law, as set out in Fla. Stat. § 760.10, makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discharge or fail or refuse to hire any individual, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status. It makes it unlawful for an employer to fire or refuse to hire someone, or to otherwise discriminate in pay or in the terms, conditions, or privileges of work, because of those traits (Fla. Stat. § 760.10). The same statute also bars job ads that show a preference or limit based on those traits.

Federal guidance from the EEOC explains who is protected and the protection against retaliation for employees who experience discrimination (EEOC guidance on protected workers). The county’s own fair-employment policy is a useful local reference alongside state and federal rules (Miami-Dade fair-employment rules).

A single charge can name more than one basis. Read each allegation on its own and test it against your records.

How the charge process works, step by step

The notice starts the clock, and its response deadline decides your first moves. Here is the usual sequence.

1. Calendar the notice. Record the response date and the agency contact named in it.
2. Read the charge. Note the dates, the people named, and the documents it references.
3. Prepare the position statement. This is your company’s written answer to each allegation, filed as the notice directs.
4. Answer information requests. Agencies may ask for personnel files, written policies, or pay records.
5. Consider mediation if offered. The statute does not require the notice to address mediation.
6. Await the determination. If the FCHR finds reasonable cause, the employee may sue in court.

If the commission does not make a reasonable-cause determination or issue a Notice of Right to Sue within 180 days after the complaint is filed, a civil action may be commenced no later than 18 months after the complaint was filed. Which deadline applies depends on how the charge proceeds. If no reasonable-cause determination is made by the commission and no Notice of Right to Sue is issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 180 days after the complaint is filed, a civil action may be commenced no later than 18 months after the filing of the complaint. Where the commission instead notifies the aggrieved person that it failed to conciliate or to determine whether there is reasonable cause, the statute provides a 1-year period that runs from the date the commission certifies that notice was mailed (Fla. Stat. § 760.11). A court may award back pay and compensatory damages. The total punitive damages awarded to one aggrieved person cannot exceed $100,000.

What a complete employer response covers

A complete response rests on preserved records, a clear timeline, and a position statement your records support.

• Preserve evidence. Send a written hold covering emails, texts, schedules, reviews, and handbooks. Pause routine deletion.
• Build a timeline. List hiring, pay changes, complaints, discipline, and the decisions the charge challenges.
• Interview decision-makers. Capture each person’s account in writing before drafting anything for the agency.
• Review the handbook. Florida courts have held that handbook policy statements do not create enforceable contract rights unless the manual expressly says it is a separate employment contract (Quaker Oats Co. v. Jewell).
• Keep statements consistent. Each fact in the position statement should match a document or a named witness.
• Track each agency’s deadlines. Keep a separate calendar for the EEOC and the FCHR when both are involved.

Coordinate communications with the employee and with managers. No one should speak about the charge in ways that could look retaliatory.

Mistakes that make early charges harder to resolve

The most common early mistakes are missing the deadline, changing records, and reacting before the facts are reviewed. Avoid these.

• Missing the response date, or asking for more time without confirming it in writing with the agency.
• Altering, discarding, or back-dating records after the notice arrives.
• Giving different explanations across managers, HR, and written responses.
• Sending the agency a detailed narrative before the facts are reviewed.
• Changing the charging employee’s schedule, pay, or duties without a documented, non-retaliatory reason.

Florida is an employment-at-will state, so either side can end indefinite employment at any time for any reason (Gessner v. Southern Co.). That freedom has a limit. An at-will employee cannot be fired for a reason the law prohibits, such as retaliation or unlawful discrimination (Laguerre v. Palm Beach Newspapers).

When an employee raises a discrimination concern internally, document it. Route it through your complaint procedure, investigate promptly, and keep a written record of each step.

Why business owners work with KEW Legal on employment charges

KEW Legal is a Florida business law firm that acts as outside general counsel for business owners and investors. It lists an employment law attorney for employers among its services. Our lawyers handle employee issues alongside partnership disputes, contracts, commercial leases, and business succession.

That broader view helps. A charge can touch a partnership agreement, a handbook, a vendor contract, or who owns the company. Counsel can review those documents together.

Kristina E. Wilson is the responsible lawyer for this page. Natalie Martinez is also one of the firm’s lawyers. Our offices are in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach. Our team starts the first review with the notice, the deadline, and the records the notice asks for.

Frequently asked questions about EEOC and FCHR charges against employers

Here are short answers to common questions about charges against employers.

Next step: talk through your notice with KEW Legal

If a notice about your company just arrived, you don’t have to sort out the deadline and the records alone. Bring the notice, the charge, and the personnel records and policies connected to it to a consultation. We can review the response timeline and the documents you will need. Your first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation to continue. Call 305-990-2300 or send us a message through our contact page to schedule.