EEOC Policy generally must be followed to the letter. Once a complaint is received, it can take quite a while to hear anything but you will. Anyone who brings a charge to the EEOC must follow procedure or the case will be thrown out. The EEOC sends the case though the channels including getting every side of the story. There are times when a business will not cooperate with the EEOC and that can slow the process up even more. However, the law says they must cooperate so eventually they do or they get a judgment against them. The EEOC has mediators as well who try to work things out outside of the courtroom. Many times that is possible, but sometimes it is not. If the EEOC rules that you have a possible court case, they will recommend that you obtain a lawyer if you do not yet have one. However, having gone through the EEOC process and their recommending a lawsuit does not guarantee you will win the judgment. EEOC is government policy and does not always run smoothly, or quickly. However, many of the cases referred for lawsuit are awarded to the employee, just not all. It is a good idea to have a good attorney to assist you through the process.