By Gerald L. Maatman Jr. and Howard M. Wexler

We previously blogged about the scathing letter sent by the chief legal officers representing the states of Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia to the five Commissioners of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) blasting the EEOC on its position that “employers’ use of
Continue Reading EEOC Responds To Attorneys’ General Criticism Of EEOC’s “Misguided” Position On Criminal Background Screens

By Laura J. Maechtlen and Brian Wong

 As the EEOC trains its focus on systemic enforcement actions, discovery battles over probative claimant information will continue to grow in importance proportionally with the claimant class size. Employer access to specific types of claimant information can make a critical difference in mounting key defenses, testing claimant credibility, and limiting available damages. The
Continue Reading Louisiana District Court Knocks Claimant Immigration Status Out Of The Discovery Ring

By Rebecca Bjork and Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.

Workplace class actions are being reshaped before our very eyes, as district courts across the country apply important new Supreme Court decisions. A new noteworthy ruling illustrating this trend in the context of Rule 23(b)(3) requirements is from a long-running employment discrimination case in New York entitled Gulino, et al. v. The
Continue Reading Certification Of Damages Issues – Really?

By Gerald L. Maatman Jr. and Howard M. Wexler

On August 30, 2013, Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York awarded interim attorneys’ fees and costs totaling $3,707,313.29 to Plaintiffs who intervened in the matter of United States v. The City of New York, No. 07-CV-2067 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 30, 2013).
Continue Reading Plaintiffs Awarded $3.7 Million In Interim Attorney’s Fees And Costs In High Profile Firefighter Discrimination Lawsuit

By Dan Klein, Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., and Chris Palamountain

In previous blog postings, we have noted the EEOC’s tactic of seeking to bifurcate Title VII cases in such a way that any punitive damages will be determined after a finding on pattern or practice liability but before any award of individual compensatory damages and litigation of the employer’s
Continue Reading Louisiana Federal Court Denies EEOC’s Request To Put Punitive Damage Cart Before the Compensatory Damage Horse

By Gerald L. Maatman Jr., Pamela Q. Devata, and Howard M. Wexler

In a scathing opinion issued today in EEOC v. Freeman, No. 09-CV-2573 (D. Md. Aug. 9, 2013), Judge Roger Titus of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland dismissed a nationwide pattern or practice lawsuit brought by the EEOC (previously discussed here and here
Continue Reading Court Dismisses EEOC’s Background Check Lawsuit Based On Its Reliance On “Laughable” And “Unreliable” Expert Report Filled Of “Errors and Analytical Fallacies”

By Gerald A. Maatman, Jr. and Laura J. Maechtlen

As our loyal blog readers are aware, following their stinging defeat before the U.S. Supreme Court in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011), plaintiffs’ counsel rebooted their claims in a fourth amended complaint alleging class-based gender discrimination claims with very important changes aimed to address deficiencies
Continue Reading DENIED! – Plaintiffs Fail To Effectively “Reboot” Class Claims And Class Certification Is Denied (Again) In Dukes v. Wal-Mart

By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.

I was privileged to present today on cutting-edge class action litigation issues at the American Conference Institute program on Employment Discrimination Litigation. Representatives of the EEOC and the plaintiffs’ class action bar were also in attendance.

In brief, I commented and analyzed a new plaintiffs’ “paradigm” we are seeing from the plaintiffs’ bar.

Class
Continue Reading Brave New World Of Employment Class Action Litigation

eeocseal.jpgBy Pamela Q. Devata, Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Jennifer A. Riley, and David J. Rowland

On January 28, 2013, Judge Patricia A. Gaughan of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio granted summary judgment to the defense in EEOC v. Kaplan Higher Education Corp, et al., No. 10-CV-2882, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11722 (N.D.

Continue Reading EEOC Cannot Prove Disparate Impact Claim As Court Throws Cold Water On Its “Race-Rating” Theory

sixth circuit.jpgBy Rebecca Bjork and Chris Palamountain

In 2011, we reported on In Re Countrywide Financial Mortgage Lending Practices Litigation, No. 08-MD-1974, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118695 (W.D. Ky. Oct. 13, 2011), a decision denying class certification of a class of mortgage borrowers. In that case, African-American and Hispanic named plaintiffs alleged that Countrywide Financial discriminated against them in granting mortgage

Continue Reading Sixth Circuit Lends Its Voice To Chorus Of Denials Of Class Certification In Subjective Discretion Situations