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One to Keep an Eye On: Mach Mining, LLC v. EEOC, United States Supreme Court


As with many employment and labor law related cases that are being litigated around the country, there are always a few that stand out.  This is one to keep an eye on.


Facts:  In 2008, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received a charge of discrimination filed by a woman who claimed that Mach Mining had denied her applications for a coal mining job because of her gender.  After investigating the cause, the EEOC determined there was reasonable cause to believe a discrimination claim existed.  In 2010, both parties subsequently discussed a possible resolution but no agreement was reached.  In 2011, the EEOC informed Mach that it had determined the conciliation process had been unsuccessful and further attempts would be futile.  The EEOC filed suit against Mach and Mach raised several defenses, namely that the EEOC failed to conciliate in good faith.   

Note that Section 706(b) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires the EEOC first determine whether reasonable cause exists to support a charge of discrimination.  At that point, "the Commission shall endeavor to eliminate any such alleged unlawful employment practice by informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion.  At that point, the EEOC is then able to bring suit 30 days after filing a Charge against the employer in the event it [the EEOC] "has been unable to secure from the respondent [the employer] a conciliation agreement acceptable to the Commission."  

I added that emphasis for good measure...as the argument follows that allowing extensive judicial review could threaten to undermine meritorious cases by incentivizing protracted collateral litigation rather than deciding the underlying discrimination claim itself.

Looking Back:  The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that while the EEOC has statutory authority to negotiate first and sue later, an employer cannot use the defense that the EEOC made no real effort to reach a resolution in conciliation to fend of an EEOC suit.  Consequently, the Court of Appeals held that since the EEOC has a unilateral obligation to engage in conciliation, the EEOC had unilateral discretion to determine whether the process worked before filing suit.

The Main Issue:  While the EEOC may bring suit against employers on behalf of aggrieved employees, but only after first satisfying certain preconditions such as conciliation, under what circumstances may a court scrutinize the EEOC's claim that conciliation has failed?

Lower Court Opinion:  http://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/rssExec.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2013/D12-20/C:13-2456:J:Hamilton:aut:T:fnOp:N:1262102:S:0

Current Status:  The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments on this case on January 13, 2015.

Looking Ahead:   If I had to guess, I would say the United States Supreme Court will follow the line of reasoning that holds the EEOC has broad authority to determine when the conciliation process is over.  While there is some risk to allowing the EEOC this, relatively speaking, unfettered discretion, I find it hard to believe that the Supreme Court would want to open up these EEOC conciliation efforts to lengthy, expensive, and time consuming judicial review.   

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