How the Other Side Responds
An answer within 21 days, or 60 with a waiver — or a Rule 12 motion, which in employment cases is a routine first move.
The timing
Rule 12(a)(1)(A) provides that a defendant must serve an answer within 21 days after being served with the summons and complaint — or within 60 days after a waiver request was sent, if they waived service.
Two kinds of response
An answer responds to the allegations paragraph by paragraph and raises defenses. Alternatively, Rule 12(b) allows certain defenses to be raised by motion before any answer: lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue, insufficient process, insufficient service of process, and failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
What the last one means
A motion under Rule 12(b)(6) argues that even assuming everything in the complaint is true, it doesn't state a legal claim. It tests the complaint as written rather than the evidence. In employment cases it's a routine first move, and it's frequently where exhaustion arguments surface — the contention that a claim wasn't raised in the EEOC charge.
What a motion does to the schedule
Rule 12(a)(4) provides that when such a motion is filed, the time to serve a responsive pleading is altered — generally to 14 days after the court denies the motion or postpones ruling on it. The case doesn't advance on its original timeline while the motion is pending.
Responding to a motion
Deadlines for opposing a motion are set by local rules and vary by district. They're typically short.
Sources
Fed. R. Civ. P. 12; district local rules.
Red flags to watch for
- A motion to dismiss arrived and you haven't checked the local response deadline
- The motion argues a claim wasn't in your EEOC charge
- The response deadline passed with no filing from either side
Next up
Discovery
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Start AI screeningSources: EEOC.gov, EEOC Field Manual, and federal employment statutes. Informational only — not legal advice.