By Christopher DeGroff, Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., and Howard M. Wexler
The Seventh Circuit just gave the EEOC a very generous present this holiday season. In what is truly a game changing decision published last night, the Seventh Circuit ruled EEOC v. Mach Mining, No. 13-2456 (7th Cir. Dec. 20, 2013), that an alleged failure to conciliate
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Gives Employers A Lump of Coal And Says Bye-Bye To Failure To Conciliate Defense
By Christopher J. DeGroff and Julie G. Yap
The EEOC has been consistent in its message about conciliation: nobody should tell us how to conciliate our cases, not even the courts.
Conciliation is a mandatory step the EEOC must take before filing a case in federal court. It is designed to allow employers an opportunity to fix potential problems before
Continue Reading It’s Not Just A Speed Bump: The EEOC Loses Another Battle In Its War On The Mandatory Conciliation Process
By Rebecca Bjork and Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.
To reach a decision it issued on August 22, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit was required to read some serious Supreme Court tea leaves and we found the results to be pretty interesting. In Butler v. Sears, Roebuck and Co., No. 11-8029 (7th Cir. Aug. 22, 2013),
Continue Reading UPDATED – Remanded For Reconsideration In Light Of What Decision, Now, Exactly?
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and David Ross
Our Annual Workplace Class Action Report analyzes the top ten settlements each year in various categories of complex workplace litigation, including employment discrimination, wage & hour, ERISA, and governmental enforcement litigation. As analyzed in Chapter 2 of our Annual Reports, employment discrimination settlements have waned since Rule 23 certification standards were
Continue Reading How A Ruling Shapes A $160 Million Class Action Settlement
By Christopher DeGroff, Matthew Gagnon, and Reema Kapur
Will the Seventh Circuit immunize the entire conciliation process from judicial review? It will if the EEOC has its way.
The EEOC is pressing its view that the courts do not have any authority to review how it conducts the conciliation process. It has made this argument in two recent
By 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
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Jennifer A. Riley
On November 20, 2012, the Seventh Circuit issued its opinion in EEOC v. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, No. 11-2848 (7th Cir. 2012), affirming a district court order granting summary judgment against the EEOC.
In a welcome relief for employers, the Seventh Circuit rejected the EEOC’s attempt to extend the
By Chris Palamountain and David Ross
We have been monitoring and blogging here about the Seventh Circuit’s curious decision in McReynolds v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 672 F.3d 482 (7th Cir. 2012) (“McReynolds I”). Sometimes when an appellate court issues a decision in the case, it brings a sense of finality and closure, at
By Christopher DeGroff and Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.
While we usually post about “hot off the press” federal decisions in employment-related class action litigation, today we highlight litigation that is still simmering in the pleadings stage. In EEOC v. United Parcel Service Inc., No. 09-CV-05291 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 28, 2011), Judge Robert M. Dow Jr. of the U.S. District Court
Continue Reading A “Hail Mary” Pass – An EEOC Interlocutory Appeal On Key Pattern Or Practice Issues
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Jennifer Riley
In recent posts, we have recounted efforts by the plaintiffs’ class action bar to “re-boot” class certification theories to work around the Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S.Ct. 2541 (2011) (read more here, here, here and here).
Today, one of the most far-reaching