Law, Business and Society 11th Edition by Tony McAdams

Exercise 61

Under the EEOC's Strategic Plan for FY 2012-2016, the EEOC has made "systemic enforcement" a priority. In 2013, the EEOC obtained $372.1 million in monetary relief for victims of private-sector workplace discrimination, the EEOC's highest level of recovery in its history. At the same time, a federal appellate court restricted the EEOC's systemic enforcement efforts by ruling that the EEOC would have to determine the individuals in a class action against an employer before litigation, not during discovery (see Chapter 4). The employer should then have the opportunity to resolve the matter through the EEOC's conciliation process. However, in denying an employer's motion for summary judgment, a federal district judge allowed an EEOC action to proceed without the names of the discrimination victims being identified before the lawsuit was filed.
Should the EEOC be able to investigate and bring an enforcement action against an employer suspected of a systemic pattern of discrimination without a specific individual complaint Explain.