The EEOC Position Statement—Employer's Story Time

Jason Keck was quoted in the SHRM article “The EEOC Position Statement—Employer’s Story Time” on October 29, 2014.

Jason was quoted on the fundamentals of writing a good position statement.

Use subheads to make it easy for an EEOC investigator to see at a glance what the employer’s story is, said Jason.

“I always try to provide the investigator with a ‘flavor’ of the company’s position on the first page and through persuasive use of section headings,” Jason added. “For example, instead of identifying a subsection as ‘Complainant’s Termination’ and then articulating the reasons why the charging party was terminated, I would identify the subsection as ‘Company X Terminated Complainant for Stealing the Company’s Merchandise.’

“Subtle changes like this one would allow the investigator to simply read the section headings and know the company’s position,” Jason remarked. “In a world of overworked and underpaid investigators, I believe this is a good thing.”

Jason also recommended that the position statement have three sections:

• A relevant policy section, where the company describes its anti-discrimination, anti-harassment and/or anti-retaliation policies.
• A facts section, which provides the company with the chance to tell its side of the story. “I recommend keeping the factual background section concise, to the point and accurate (i.e., do not overstate or understate the relevant events),” he said.
• An application section, where the company articulates the reasons why it took an action.

To read the full article, please visit SHRM Online.