29 CFR §1601.12 | CONTENTS OF CHARGE; AMENDMENT OF CHARGE

Title VII mandates only that a charge be verified and in writing. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(b) (1994). In addition to these statutory requirements, Title VII grants the EEOC broad discretion to determine in what form a charge must come and what information it must contain. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(b) (1994); Clark v. Coats Clark, Inc., 865 F.2d 1237, 1240 (11th Cir. 1989).

EEOC regulations do distinguish between charges and intake questionnaires, but the distinction is not as sharp as Grinnell contends. Section 1601.6 states only that the EEOC "shall receive information concerning alleged violations." 29 C.F.R. § 1601.6(a) (2000). "Where the information discloses that a person is entitled to file a charge," the EEOC may assist in the filing of the charge. Id. In practice, the EEOC uses intake questionnaires to receive information. But the regulations do not speak of intake questionnaires and do not state that intake questionnaires may never constitute charges.

EEOC regulations do establish charge requirements, however. According to the regulations, charges "should contain" certain information. 29 C.F.R. § 1601.12(a) (2000). However, even if a charge does not contain the suggested information, the EEOC will deem a charge minimally sufficient when it receives from the charging party "a written statement sufficiently precise to identify the parties, and to describe generally the action or practices complained of." 29 C.F.R. § 1601.12(b) (2000). Furthermore, a charge may be amended to cure technical defects, to clarify or amplify allegations, or to allege additional unlawful acts. See id. The requirements for a charge are, indeed, "very minimal." EEOC v. Mississippi Coll., 626 F.2d 477, 483 (5th Cir. 1980).