Employment litigation has boomed over the last decade or so, and those cases can unfold over years—especially if they go all the way to the Supreme Court.

But, as the Chinese proverb says, a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Lawsuits against employers are often initiated by an alleged victim contacting the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by phone.

That fundamental communication process is in a major transition as the EEOC continues to bring in-house all of the work that had been done during the last few years at a call center. This major undertaking—the agency received about 90,000 calls in the last month—has created controversy on the EEOC board. Here’s an article from Workforce.com regarding the situation that posted on December 17: “EEOC Hires Temporary Workers to Staff Phones During Transition.”

 On Tuesday, February 19, the EEOC approved the hiring of 61 permanent staff to help field calls. In mid-March, they will replace the 37 temporary employees who have been filling in since mid-December after the call center was shut down. The commission also extended for nearly 11 months the use of a voice recognition system that helps manage calls.

In addition, the EEOC set in motion what it calls a long-term solution, allowing its field office to select a telecommunications vendor for a five-year contract for an enhanced customer response system.

Citing federal procurement laws, the commission wouldn’t reveal the size of the contracts. But based on a slip by a commissioner at a December meeting, it’s probably safe to guess that the extension of the voice recognition system will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 million.

Although the commission vote was unanimous, tension remains high among the commissioners over the call center transition. The short-term extension of the voice recognition contract and the bidding for a long-term vendor were rolled together into one vote to speed up the process. But the commission agreed to a complicated formula that would bring the vendor decision back to the commission if it exceeded cost estimates.

This may sound like internal politics at a federal bureaucracy, but there are important implications for discrimination victims and the companies that defend against their suits.

For one thing, the EEOC is a busy place. Its inventory of cases has increased from 39,000 in 2006 to 54,000 last year. And the phone keeps ringing off the hook. During the last month, 80 percent of 90,000 queries required the response of a live operator. “We don’t have enough people in our offices right now to answer calls,” Cynthia Pierre, director of EEOC field management programs, said after the commission meeting.

The 61 new hires will help, as will the strengthened capabilities of the voice recognition system. For instance, callers will now automatically be routed to the nearest of 15 EEOC regional offices. In the future, the system also will be able to direct them to the EEOC staffer who has expertise in the area of their concern

That kind of knowledge will be crucial because EEOC demand may spike further if employment discrimination bills supported by congressional Democratic majorities become law.

“There are a number of pieces of legislation pending, some complex,” said EEOC Chair Naomi Earp. “We could get a tremendous volume of calls, and they should be directed.”

So far, the EEOC has not received many complaints from people who have gotten misdirected—or lost—in the phone system. But even a few fumbles might create a problem.

“Anytime someone gets a busy signal, it’s a lost opportunity,” said Leslie Silverman, EEOC vice chair.

The intake process would be further undermined if an overworked EEOC staffer mishandles a complaint. The Supreme Court is considering a case in which FedEx argues that a discrimination suit should be dismissed because an EEOC charge wasn’t properly filed.

The shutdown of the outsourced EEOC call center won’t have a dramatic impact on the number of charges filed, according to Gerald Maatman Jr., a partner at Seyfarth Shaw in Chicago. But any internal EEOC mistake could allow a company to say that it didn’t get a fair chance to respond.

“You have created an additional defense for the employer,” Maatman said.

Don’t dismiss these bureaucratic details as just another Washington evil. At the EEOC, they could influence employment lawsuits—starting with a simple phone call.