The EEOC's "Fishing Expedition" Results In Partial Dismissal Of Its Claims

Joining a growing line of cases reflecting judicial intolerance for questionable litigation tactics, the recent ruling in EEOC v. American Somoa Government, et al., No. 11-CV-00525 (D. Haw. Oct. 5, 2012), rejected the EEOC’s “shoot first, aim later” tactics and granted partial summary judgment to the employer. During the investigation and conciliation process, the EEOC only identified two employees on whose behalf it sought monetary relief. Nonetheless, during discovery, the EEOC sought information regarding all 5,000 of the Defendant’s employees. Id. at 12. The Defendant objected to the EEOC’s broad discovery tactics, noting that the EEOC gave it reason to believe that its purported “class” only consisted of the two named employees within the Department of Human Resources. The Court agreed, and held that the EEOC impermissibly attempted to expand its claims through discovery and determined that “its investigation was limited to age discrimination claims [within the Department of Human Resources] and it may not use this lawsuit as a fishing expedition to uncover more violations.” Id. at 22 (internal quotations omitted).

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