§ 1626.12 Conciliation efforts pursuant to section 7(d) of the Act.

(a) Upon receipt of a charge, the Commission shall promptly attempt to eliminate any alleged unlawful practice by informal methods of conciliation, conference, and persuasion. Upon failure of such conciliation the Commission will notify the charging party. Such notification enables the charging party or any person aggrieved by the subject matter of the charge to commence action to enforce their rights without waiting for the lapse of 60 days. Notification under this section is not a Notice of Dismissal or Termination under § 1626.17.

(b) In any conciliation process pursuant to this section the Commission will:

(1) If it has not already done so, provide the respondent with a written summary of the known facts and non-privileged information that form the basis of the allegation(s), including identifying known aggrieved individuals or known groups of aggrieved individuals, for whom relief is being sought, but not if the individual(s) has requested anonymity. In the event that it is anticipated that a claims process will be used subsequently to identify aggrieved individuals, if it has not already done so, identify for respondent the criteria that will be used to identify victims from the pool of potential class members;

(2) If it has not already done so, provide the respondent with a written summary of the legal basis for the allegation(s). In addition, the Commission may, but is not required to provide a response to the defenses raised by respondent;

(3) Provide a written basis for any monetary or other relief including the calculations underlying the initial conciliation proposal, and an explanation thereof. A written explanation is not required for subsequent offers and counteroffers;

(4) If it has not already done so, advise the respondent in writing that the Commission has designated the case as systemic, class, or pattern or practice, if the designation has been made at the time of the conciliation, and the basis for the designation; and

(5) Provide the respondent at least 14 calendar days to respond to the Commission's initial conciliation proposal.

(c) The Commission shall not disclose any information pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section where another federal law prohibits disclosure of that information or where the information is protected by privilege.

(d) Any information the Commission provides pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section to the respondent, except for information about another charging party or aggrieved individual, will also be provided to the charging party, upon request. Any information the Commission provides pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section to the respondent about an aggrieved individual will be provided to the aggrieved individual, upon request.

[86 FR 2985, Jan. 14, 2021]