Answering A Complaint of Discrimination

If you have been served with an MCAD Complaint, you must reply to the allegations in the form of a written "Position Statement" that must be filed with the MCAD and served on the Complainant.

Position Statements must contain a full and complete description of your position regarding all of the allegations in the Complaint and include any and all defenses which you wish to raise regarding the Complaint. The Position Statement must be signed by the employer, business agent, landlord, or attorney representing you as well as signed by someone with knowledge of the matters attested to in the Position Statement.

Position Statements

Position Statements must be written in accordance with the MCAD Procedural Regulations at 804 CMR 1.05(8) (2020).

Answers should contain a full and complete description of your position regarding all of the allegations in the Complaint and include any and all defenses which you wish to raise regarding the Complaint.

The Position Statement must be signed by the employer, business agent, landlord, or attorney representing you as well as signed by someone with knowledge of the matters attested to in the Position Statement.

Where to File

You must file the Position Statement with the MCAD and serve the Position Statement on the Complainant and the Complainant's attorney if applicable.

Electronic Position Statement Filing

In the Subject Line of your email, you must include your docket number, party names, and the first and last name of the MCAD Investigator assigned to your case. 

Boston cases: bospositionstmts@state.ma.us

Springfield cases: sprpositionstmts@state.ma.us

Worcester cases: worpositionstmts@state.ma.us

New Bedford cases: bospositionstmts@state.ma.us

The Position Statement email addresses only accept position statements and position statement attachments. Please do not send any other documents or requests to this email address as those communications will not be reviewed or responded to. If you need to send other documents or have an inquiry relative to your case, please contact the MCAD investigator assigned to your case directly.

Legal & Technical Requirements for Electronic Submissions

The legal requirements for electronically submitting position statements are:

All position statements must be:

  1. Signed by counsel, if represented by counsel and
  2. Include the signed sworn affirmations of all Respondents.

MCAD regulations (804 C.M.R. §1.05(8)(c)) require you to serve printed copies of your position statement, including all attachments, if any, on the Complainant(s) and any attorney(s) of record for Complainant(s).

Attorneys must retain an original copy of the position statement to provide the MCAD upon request.


Technical requirements for electronic submission of Position Statements are:

All Position Statements must be:

  1. Submitted in PDF format,
  2. Cannot exceed 15 MB in size,
  3. Must contain the docket number, party names, and the first and last name of the MCAD Investigator assigned to your case in the Subject Line.

If you are not able to send your Position Statement and attachments in one email you can submit multiple emails; however, the subject line of EACH EMAIL MUST contain the docket number, party names, and the first and last name of the assigned MCAD Investigator.

Next Steps

Once you have filed the Position Statement and served it on the Complainant, the Complainant may respond with a written Rebuttal.

Next, the MCAD will conduct its investigation. This includes gathering additional information by interviewing witnesses, obtaining relevant documents, making visits to the place of employment or apartment, or other appropriate on-site visits, and may include an Investigative Conference. This investigation may take up to 18-22 months.

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