The ongoing federal government shutdown has brought the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to a near standstill, freezing most investigations, hearings, and mediations. With nearly all staff furloughed, private sector employees may still file discrimination complaints online, but those cases will sit idle until Congress restores funding.
The EEOC, which enforces federal laws against workplace discrimination, is now operating with only a handful of employees handling emergencies. That means that potentially tens of thousands of pending complaints are in limbo, and new filings are immediately added to a growing backlog that could take months — if not longer — to clear once the agency reopens.
For employees with discrimination or retaliation complaints, this means justice will be delayed.
Can Employees Still File EEOC Complaints?
Yes, employees and their attorneys can still file new complaints with the EEOC.
Potomac Legal Group is currently representing clients with pending EEOC matters and submitting new complaints while the federal government is closed.
The EEOC’s online public portal remains open, and it will accept new “charges of discrimination.” This means that if you believe you have been discriminated against, you can still initiate your claim. Federal law imposes strict time limits for filing, typically within 180 days of the last discriminatory act, or up to 300 days if state or local anti-discrimination laws also apply. These deadlines are still in effect despite the shutdown.
You should always have a lawyer review the statute of limitations regarding your potential claims.
Once a charge is filed, however, the case will not move forward until the government reopens. Investigations are on hold. Mediations and hearings are canceled or postponed. For most employees, this means their charge will sit in queue until funding is restored and staff can return to work.
What Happens After You File?
Under normal circumstances, the EEOC would assign an investigator to review your charge, contact your employer for a response, and possibly offer mediation. The agency might later issue a finding of discrimination or give you a “right to sue” letter that allows you to bring your case to federal court. None of those steps are currently happening.
For employees who already received a right-to-sue letter before the shutdown, the 90-day window to file in federal court still applies. That deadline is statutory and not automatically paused by the government’s funding lapse. The same applies to the initial charge-filing window — employees must meet those deadlines regardless of the shutdown unless Congress or a court expressly extends them. For that reason, individuals should continue to act as though all time limits are running.
Attorneys representing employees can still prepare cases, gather evidence, and preserve documents, but they cannot expect substantive communication or progress from the EEOC until the agency reopens.
The Impact of the Shutdown
The agency’s closure has created a near-total standstill in enforcement.
Past reopening experience offers some guidance. During the 2018–2019 federal shutdown, which lasted 35 days, the EEOC accumulated thousands of unprocessed charges. It took months to recover and return to normal scheduling. The current shutdown has already surpassed that disruption in length and scale, and legal analysts expect the resulting backlog to be even larger.
When the government reopens, the agency must first bring back its staff, restore access to case files and systems, and sort through the queue of charges received during the closure. Older cases that were mid-investigation will likely be prioritized, meaning that new filings will wait even longer before assignment to an investigator. It is not unreasonable to expect months of delay before new charges begin active review.
What Employees Can Do Now?
While the EEOC remains largely inactive, employees and their attorneys should continue to protect their rights. Filing deadlines are still running, and a missed deadline can permanently bar a discrimination claim. Even though the agency is closed, the act of submitting a charge through the portal preserves a claimant’s legal position.
Attorneys can use the downtime to prepare detailed statements of facts, collect witness names, and assemble supporting documents. These steps will make it easier to move quickly once the EEOC resumes operations. Employees should also keep careful records of all relevant communications with employers, including emails, text messages, and performance reviews that might later serve as evidence.
If a case is already pending, claimants should expect no updates from EEOC until the shutdown ends. When the agency reopens, communication will likely be slow due to the backlog.
How Long Will It Take to Clear the Backlog?
No one can predict with certainty how long it will take for the EEOC to recover from the shutdown. Experts estimate that even a short closure can lead to months of delay because of the cumulative effect on staffing, case scheduling, and mediation calendars. With each additional week the government remains closed, the backlog grows larger.
Once funding is restored, it will take time to recall and reassign staff, restart paused investigations, and respond to the influx of new complaints filed during the downtime. Realistically, it could take a year or more before processing times return to normal levels.
The Broader Impact
The longer-term concern is what this means for enforcement of civil-rights laws. The EEOC is the gatekeeper for most federal workplace-discrimination claims. If the agency remains understaffed or faces a significant backlog, employees may wait far longer to receive relief. Delayed justice can discourage workers from coming forward and can embolden employers who assume oversight is weak.
This slowdown also affects employers who want closure. Many would prefer to resolve or mediate claims quickly, but that option is unavailable until the agency resumes full operations. As time passes, evidence becomes harder to locate, witnesses move on, and both sides may face greater legal costs once investigations finally begin.
Potomac Legal Group is closely tracking EEOC developments and any changes to agency operations. Our employment law team remains available to review new discrimination and retaliation matters, advise on filing deadlines, and protect client rights while the EEOC remains closed.
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