By Christopher DeGroff and Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.

Loyal readers of our blog –  here is a webinar focused on one of the most vexing challenges of workplace law – dealing with the EEOC’s enforcement program.

On Wednesday, July 25, 2012 at 12:00pm Central / 1:00pm Eastern, Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Christopher DeGroff, co-chairs of the firm’s Complex Discrimination Litigation group, will host an interactive webinar on the shifting landscape of EEOC precedent and procedures in systemic enforcement litigation. Best of all, it’s free! Click here to register and attend.

EEOC Initiated Litigation Case Law Developments In 2011 And Trends To Watch For In 2012.jpgIt has been a tumultuous year for EEOC-related activity and there have been a number of developments since Seyfarth Shaw’s March 2012 EEOC webinar: EEOC-Initiated Litigation: Case Law Developments In 2011 And Trends To Watch For In 2012, where our speakers Mr. Maatman and Mr. DeGroff outlined the EEOC’s activities over the preceding year and gave a forecast of significant EEOC action in the coming year.

Many of these developments have now come to pass. The most recent buzz at the Commission  surrounds the launch of its new 2012-2016 Strategic Plan, which we previously blogged about here. The Commission also continues to carry out its promise to prosecute large-scale systematic litigation, which has shifted the landscape of EEOC precedent and procedures.  Given these recent developments, including the highly publicized EEOC v. CRST Van Lines opinion from May of 2012 (discussed here), employers are well-served to remain up to speed on – and craft their strategies to get ahead of – the government’s most recent tactics and  to address the Commission’s aggressive litigation agenda.

The webinar is particularly timely, as a significant majority of the EEOC’s lawsuits are filed each year between July 1 and September 30 (the end date of the EEOC’s fiscal year), in what has come to be known as the “red zone.” 

This mid-year session will have a practical focus, including topics like:

  • Signs that you are a target of an EEOC systemic Investigation;
  • Pro-active steps to maintain the edge in agency-initiated investigations and litigation (including eDiscovery issues, expert statistical analyses, development of positive facts, and media issues);
  • Core tenants of conciliation and tactics in high stakes EEOC investigations; and
  • Taking control of the early stages of EEOC-initiated lawsuits.

It is critical that employers remain vigilant in the face of the EEOC’s aggressive agenda; an agenda that is all-too-often driven by political fuel rather than attention to substantiated EEO problems in the workplace. In an effort to support that vigilance, Mr. Maatman and Mr. DeGroff will discuss the tools and tactics that have been the most effective in their extensive practice with the EEOC.

Hurry over – there is still time to reserve a slot!