Seyfarth Issues Annual EEOC Litigation Report, Names Top Trends to Watch in 2015

CHICAGO (January 2, 2015) – Seyfarth Shaw LLP has released its annual report on EEOC legal activities and court rulings, entitled EEOC-Initiated Litigation: Case Law Developments In 2014 And Trends To Watch For In 2015, the most definitive source of intelligence that focuses exclusively on EEOC-related litigation.

Authored by Seyfarth lawyers Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Christopher J. DeGroff and Matthew Gagnon, this year’s report analyzes the 2014 year-end performance of the EEOC’s Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) and provides readers with a detailed executive summary and comprehensive analysis on the unique aspects of court rulings in 2014 in EEOC litigation and the challenges employers face in litigating against the EEOC.

In reviewing the landscape of 2014 decisions in EEOC litigation, the numbers suggest an agency struggling as its heads into 2015. For example, at fiscal year-end, the EEOC reported monetary recoveries dropped $92.5 million, charge filings fell by 4,949, charge resolutions fell by 9,810 and case backlog rose by 5,154 to reach 75,935.

Despite this drop off, however, Seyfarth’s analysis reveals aggressive efforts by the EEOC to expand its enforcement powers under the banner of its SEP in an effort to create new paths for large, systemic class-like cases. The Seyfarth report analyzes a number of key EEOC trends with wide-ranging implications for employers in 2015, including:

Attempting to Immunize its Pre-suit Conduct from Judicial Review: Led by Mach Mining v. EEOC, which will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13, the EEOC is actively challenging courts’ oversight of how it fulfills its pre-suit obligations to conduct a reasonable investigation and conciliate in good faith prior to bringing suit in court.
Intent on Shaping, Not Just Enforcing, Anti-discrimination Laws: EEOC took a new position in a number of recent cases that discrimination against transgendered employees is a violation of Title VII. EEOC also issued guidelines to extend the reach of the ADA’s reasonable accommodation provisions to cover pregnant employees who are experiencing normal pregnancies.
Test-Driving New Litigation Theories: EEOC demonstrated a renewed willingness in 2014 to pursue employers even after a case has been settled.
Leveraging Subpoena Power: EEOC doubled its subpoena actions in 2014, which rose from 17 to 34, as Courts endorsed the agency’s subpoena power to conduct far-reaching, expansive investigations.
ADA Lawsuits Reach New Record High: ADA lawsuits hit 75,858 and have risen faster than any other filing category, spiking 66.3% since 2010.

In addition to these key trends, Seyfarth selected the five most intriguing cases from 2014, and a more detailed breakdown of these five can be found here at Seyfarth’s Workplace Class Action Blog.

Seyfarth’s EEOC-Initiated Litigation report also contains a detailed legislative update and variety of charts, graphs and maps tracking key EEOC case categories and historical data. The complete edition is once again available for immediate download as an eBook. To order the eBook, please click here.

About Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Seyfarth Shaw has more than 800 attorneys and provides a broad range of legal services in the areas of labor and employment, employee benefits, litigation, corporate and real estate. With offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York, Sacramento, San Francisco, Shanghai, Sydney and Washington, D.C., Seyfarth’s clients include over 300 of the Fortune 500 companies and reflect virtually every industry and segment of the economy. A recognized leader in delivering value and innovation for legal services, Seyfarth’s acclaimed SeyfarthLean client service model has earned numerous accolades from a variety of highly respected third parties, including industry associations, consulting firms and media. For more information, please visit www.seyfarth.com.

Contacts:

Brian Kiefer, Director of Public Relations
(312) 460-6401, bkiefer@seyfarth.com

Martin Grego, Public Relations Manager
(312) 460-6659, mgrego@seyfarth.com