Christopher DeGroff Published in Employment Law Strategist
“The EEOC Is Thinking Big With Its New Systemic Discrimination Initiative”

The July 2007 issue of Employment Law Strategist features Christopher DeGroff’s article, ““The EEOC Is Thinking Big With Its New Systemic Discrimination Initiative.” In his article, Christopher explains that the EEOC’s Systemic Task Force’s report, “along with other recent EEOC memoranda, gives employers a unique look at the EEOC’s class-case ‘playbook’ and provides a preview of its prospective tactics.”

The EEOC’s Systemic Discrimination Initiative “calls for the EEOC to uncover, investigate and successfully litigate more cases of widespread employment discrimination.” This may be alarming to employers since, “most charging parties do not approach the EEOC intending to make class-wide allegations of unlawful conduct. Yet the agency intends to probe individual charging parties carefully for any signs of systemic discrimination.” Therefore, Christopher notes, “According to the EEOC’s systemic strategy, then, an individual complaint of discrimination may suddenly mushroom into a facility- or even company-wide investigation even where the employee did not intend to bring a class-based charge, and even if systematic discrimination is not apparent to the EEOC investigators.” Furthermore, the Initiative calls for EEOC lawyers to become “more involved in the administrative process.” This change in strategy is important, Christopher notes, because the “EEOC administrative process was intended to be a neutral investigation of discrimination claims, but now, the lawyers who will ultimately litigate claims of systemic discrimination as employee advocates will be closely married to some or all aspects of the investigation.”