During the Obama Administration, the then General Counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) pursued a number of novel (and many would argue questionable) theories of discrimination with the aim of expanding the agency’s authority to pursue class-wide cases.
Key among these actions was bringing so-called pattern-or-practice cases, which seek large-scale relief for a large number of individuals to combat what the agency considers to be systemic discrimination. The General Counsel claimed that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act gave the Commission expansive authority to file these pattern-or practice-cases, and that in doing so the EEOC was not required to comply with the pre-suit procedures applicable to all other litigation brought under Title VII.
Although the former GC’s rogue theory on bringing pattern-or-practice cases has not fared well in the federal courts, it has remained the position of the EEOC. In a recent positive development, however, the EEOC Commissioners refined the Commission’s stance by approving issuance of a “formal” opinion letter clarifying the agency’s authority to pursue pattern-or-practice cases under Title VII consistent with what we believe to be a proper interpretation of the law.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.