When a current or former employee files a discrimination or retaliation charge with an administrative agency, like the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employers often view it as a precursor to litigation. However, these agency-level proceedings are effectively litigation, and how employers respond can have a significant impact on the outcome and any future lawsuits. Properly managing these charges is critical for minimizing legal exposure and avoiding common pitfalls.
In a recent article published by HR Dive, Partners Susan Best and Stephanie Jones, alongside Senior Counsel Y’Noka Bass, present a comprehensive guide to effectively navigating the agency process. The article covers essential steps for HR professionals and management, from responding to charges and gathering key documentation to coordinating with legal teams and considering early settlement options. It also emphasizes the importance of professionalism with investigators and planning for possible future litigation. The authors offer practical tips to help employers handle charges strategically, improve internal practices, and mitigate future risks.
Best is an accomplished trial lawyer with extensive experience representing public and private entities in complex litigation. She regularly handles matters involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, constitutional claims, breach of contract, and the enforcement of non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. In addition to her litigation practice, Best advises on workplace compliance issues like Title IX, anti-discrimination policies, and payroll compliance, and conducts training for employers, HR professionals, and educational institutions on navigating sensitive employment matters.
Jones is the incoming Chief Operating Partner of the firm, effective June 2026, and a nationally recognized litigator who regularly represents employers, decision-makers, agents and brokers, and companies of all sizes in litigation before administrative agencies and in state and federal courts nationwide. Her experience includes defending class and collective actions, wage-and-hour disputes, discrimination and retaliation claims, catastrophic product liability matters, and environmental and toxic tort cases. She also counsels clients proactively on compliance, risk mitigation, and litigation-avoidance strategies.
Bass focuses her practice on complex employment litigation, commercial litigation, and environmental and toxic tort. She has represented clients in a variety of matters, including employment discrimination, breach of contract, fiduciary duty, mass torts, premises liability, and toxic tort. She is also a current Adjunct Professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she instructs a class of first-year law students on the importance of their professional identity and how to be ethical leaders in the legal profession.
Read the full article on HR Dive‘s website.