Investigation Tactics and Administrative Subpoenas

magnifier-1714172__340By 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 single employee’s charge of discrimination. The

100px-US-CourtOfAppeals-9thCircuit-Seal_svgBy 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

supreme court seal

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

gavel on white backgroundBy 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

imagesBy 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 a warrantless, non-consensual search of

thSYZKELTSBy 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 part of the political debate

9th-circuitBy 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

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 EEOC subpoenas requests are more