1. Why might the EEOC have decided to focus on “systemic enforcement” as part of its strategic plan? What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a focus? Explain.
2. Should the EEOC be able to investigate and bring an enforcement action against an employer suspected of a systemic pattern of discrimination without a specific individual complaint? Explain.
3. If the EEOC is required to always identify individual victims of a potentially discriminatory employment practice prior to bringing a class-action lawsuit against the employer, how might this impact its systemic enforcement efforts? Explain.
Under the EEOC’s Strategic Plan for FY 2012– 2016, the EEOC has made “systemic enforcement” a priority. In 2013, the EEOC obtained $ 372.1 million in monetary relief for victims of private-sector workplace discrimination, the EEOC’s highest level of recovery in its history. At the same time, a federal appellate court restricted the EEOC’s systemic enforcement efforts by ruling that the EEOC would have to determine the individuals in a class action against an employer before litigation, not during discovery (see Chapter 4). The employer should then have the opportunity to resolve the matter through the EEOC’s conciliation process. However, in denying an employer’s motion for summary judgment, a federal district judge allowed an EEOC action to proceed without the names of the discrimination victims being identified before the lawsuit was filed.