By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Alex W. Karasik
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Sixth Circuit recently affirmed a U.S. District Court’s decision granting the EEOC’s application to enforce a subpoena in a disability discrimination investigation, finding that company-wide information regarding the employer’s use and disclosure of medical information was relevant to the investigation of a
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Christopher J. DeGroff and Alex W. Karasik
Seyfarth Synopsis: After the U.S. Supreme Court clarified in McLane Co. v. EEOC, No. 15-1248, 2017 U.S. LEXIS 2327 (U.S. 2017), that the scope of review for employers facing EEOC administrative subpoenas was the abuse-of-discretion standard, a relatively high bar of
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Christopher J. DeGroff, and Matt Gagnon
Seyfarth Synopsis: Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited decision in McLane Co. v. EEOC, No. 15-1248, 2017 U.S. LEXIS 2327 (U.S. 2017), a decision that clarifies the scope of review for employers facing EEOC administrative subpoenas. The Supreme Court
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Mark W. Wallin, and Alex W. Karasik
Seyfarth Synopsis: A federal court in Tennessee denied the EEOC’s application for an Order to Show Cause why its administrative subpoena should not be enforced. This ruling highlights the importance and benefits of employers understanding the contours of the charges being investigated
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Christopher DeGroff, and Alex W. Karasik
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently held that a district court did not abuse its discretion when it declined to enforce a far-reaching EEOC administrative subpoena relating to one employee’s charge of disability and pregnancy discrimination. The
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Alex W. Karasik
Seyfarth Synopsis: Court ordered enforcement of the EEOC’s subpoena and authorized the Commission to conduct an on-site investigation without the employer’s consent.
The EEOC has conducted on-site inspections of employers’ business premises for decades, federal courts rarely have explored the authority of the Commission to conduct
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Alex W. Karasik
Seyfarth Synopsis: This Fourth Circuit ruling opens the door for the EEOC to investigate employers as a result of EEOC charges brought by unauthorized employees, even though an illegal alien worker may not be able to seek certain legal remedies.
Undocumented workers and immigration reform are
By Laura J. Maechtlen and Courtney K. Bohl
As our readers may recall, in November 2012, Judge G. Murray Snow of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona nixed a subpoena issued by the EEOC seeking employee pedigree information (name, address, telephone number and social security number), and information regarding the reasons
By Christopher DeGroff and Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.
Employers have become accustomed to the federal courts rubber stamping EEOC subpoenas seeking company-wide information based on a single charge of discrimination. In light of the EEOC’s systemic focus — and the agency’s desire to transform single allegations into a blockbuster systemic actions — aggressive and extensive
By Gerald L. Maatman Jr. and Howard M. Wexler
As we noted in our EEOC Fiscal Year 2014 Scorecard, the EEOC has been steadily increasing its use of its subpoena power to gather as much information as possible from employers prior to filing suit. In fact, in FY 2014, the EEOC prosecuted 24