District Court Reels In The EEOC's "Strategic Plan" To Pursue Systemic Discrimination Claims

In a blow to the EEOC’s “top priority” — its four-year strategic plan to double-down on systemic discrimination claims — the Court in EEOC v. Bass Pro Outdoor World, LLC , No. 4:11-CV-03425 (S.D. Tex. May 31, 2012), dismissed the EEOC’s § 707 pattern or practice claim and made several significant findings with respect to the Commission's litigation strategy. First, the Court expressly rejected the EEOC’s “attempt to merge § 706 and § 707 into a single, non-existent ‘hybrid’ claim.” Id. at 11. Noting that Congress made monetary relief available in § 706 enforcement actions on behalf of allegedly aggrieved individuals, but not in § 707 pattern or practice actions, Judge Keith P. Ellison of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas found that the procedures and remedies available in these two types of actions cannot be “blended.” Id. at 28. Second, the Court found that the complaint failed to state a “plausible” pattern or practice claim where it appeared to be based on a smattering of isolated incidents. Id. at 23. Finally, even if the EEOC could bring a § 707 pattern or practice claim, the Court found that it would be subject to the 300 day statute of limitations set forth in § 706. Id. at 36.

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