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Dorsey eUpdate: Supreme Court Requires Review Of EEOC Conciliation Effort Before Suing an Employer
Before suing an employer for discrimination, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") must try to remedy unlawful workplace practices through informal methods of conciliation.
The EEOC sued Mach Mining in federal court alleging sex discrimination in hiring, and Mach Mining asserted that the EEOC had failed to conciliate in good faith prior to filing suit. At summary judgment, the EEOC argued that its conciliation efforts are not subject to judicial review.
The District Court rejected that argument, but the Seventh Circuit reversed. The Court vacated and remanded, holding that a court may review whether the EEOC satisfied its statutory obligation to attempt conciliation before filing suit, but the scope of that review is narrow, reflecting the abundant discretion the law gives the EEOC to decide the kind and extent of discussions appropriate in a given case. Mach Mining, LLC, v. EEOC, 575 U.S. ____ (2015).
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