U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
File your FOIA request or appeal and monitor its status online.
202-663-4634
Contact the Requester Service Center for questions and concerns regarding FOIA and Section 83 requests.
1-877-869-1802 TOLL FREE
202-663-4500 Headquarters Office
877-403-8690 Los Angeles District Office
Department of Justice
Office of Information Policy (OIP)
202-514-3642
Office of Government Information Services (OGIS)
202-741-5770
The Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") is a law that allows any member of the public to request copies of federal government records, including EEOC records. 5 U.S.C. § 552.
EEOC makes many records publicly available on the EEOC's main website, such as informal discussion letters and guidance documents. Documents are also available in the FOIA E-Library (an electronic collection), and in physical libraries located at EEOC Headquarters (131 M Street, N.E., Suite 4SW16N, Washington, D.C. 20507) and District Offices. Before requesting a document through FOIA, please check to see whether it is available in one of these locations.
Some EEOC records are confidential, and will not be released. For example, EEOC WILL NOT RELEASE:
To find out more about what can be withheld under the FOIA, see What types of EEOC records are not disclosed to the public?
Special rules apply to requests for records that relate to a charge of discrimination that has been filed with the EEOC (a collection of all the records related to a charge is called a "charge file").
You can only request a charge file if you are the person who filed the charge (the "charging party"), or the employer who was accused of discrimination (the "respondent"), and the EEOC has completed its investigation of the charge of employment
discrimination.
If you are requesting a charge file, you can choose to make a "Section 83" request instead of a FOIA request. A Section 83 request will be processed more quickly, but you will not receive an explanation of why certain information in the file was withheld, if any, and you will not have the right to appeal the decision to withhold the information. Additional information about Section 83, including instructions on how to file a Section 83 request, can be found under Submit a Request or Appeal.
To make a Section 83 or FOIA request, see Submit a Request or Appeal.
For more detailed information on FOIA, see Resources.