NFIB Legal Center Takes EEOC’s Duty to Conciliate Before Filing Suit to Supreme Court
www.NFIB.com
For Immediate Release
Kelly Hoffman 202-314-2054 or [email protected]
NFIB Legal Center Takes EEOC’s Duty to Conciliate Before Filing Suit to Supreme Court
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 11, 2014 —The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Legal Center along with the Retail Litigation Center, the United States Chamber of Commerce, and American Trucking Associations has filed a brief in the case Mach Mining v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The brief argues that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has an enforceable obligation to engage in good faith settlement discussions prior to filing a lawsuit and that the agency’s failure to conciliate in a meaningful fashion is subject to judicial review.
“Most small business owners do not have in-house counsels and already have to spend time away from their business navigating a complicated judicial process on their own. In fact, being dragged into court is already one of the biggest financial risks for small businesses. NFIB welcomes the Supreme Court’s review of this important case,” said Karen Harned, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center.
“Judicial review is essential to ensure that conciliation is meaningful. The Seventh Circuit’s ruling that removing the EEOC’s pre-suit efforts from judicial oversight would promote conciliation fails to recognize real world incentives of employers to settle litigation before the case ends up in court.
“Aside from the illogical argument advanced by the Seventh Circuit, 40 years of precedent and the statute itself clearly place the EEOC conciliatory duty within the scope of judicial review. In fact, the Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits have all held that the EEOC’s duty to conciliate is reviewable.”
The EEOC brought a Title VII discrimination suit against employer, Mach Mining, regarding its hiring practices. In EEOC v. Mach Mining, the employer asserted that the EEOC had not fulfilled its legal obligation to seek conciliation prior to initiating litigation. The EEOC, in response, asserted that review of its pretrial obligations was beyond the scope of judicial review.
The Seventh Circuit ruled on December 20, 2013 that Mach Mining could not raise the EEOC’s failure to conciliate in good faith as an affirmative defense to the agency’s sex discrimination in hiring suit against company. The decision was at odds with the rulings of other federal circuit courts.
The coalition’s brief highlights the statutory history that demonstrates that EEOC compliance with its statutory duty is well within the court’s rights to review and enforce.
The case will be heard during the Supreme Court’s October 2014 term.
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The NFIB Small Business Legal Center is a 501(c)(3) organization created to protect the rights of America’s small business owners by providing advisory material on legal issues and by ensuring that the voice of small business is heard in the nation’s courts. The National Federation of Independent Business is the nation’s leading small business association, with offices in Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals.
