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United States: Sixth Circuit Approves Fee Award Against The EEOC For Meritless Criminal Record Actio
October 22, 2013 posted by Steve Brownstein
A divided Sixth Circuit panel affirmed the district court decision in EEOC v. Peoplemark, Inc., (Case No. 11-2582) assessing fees and costs against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") totaling $751,942.48 for continuing to pursue an action it knew to be meritless.
On September 29, 2008, the EEOC had filed an action against Peoplemark, Inc., a temporary employment agency, alleging that Peoplemark had a blanket, companywide policy of denying employment to individuals with felony convictions and that this policy had a disparate impact on African-Americans. When discovery revealed that no such blanket policy existed, the EEOC continued on with its statistical analysis to determine if Peoplemark's consideration of felony convictions might have a disparate impact on African-Americans.
After multiple extensions, the EEOC finally filed its expert report in February 2010. Thereafter, Peoplemark filed a motion for summary judgment on February 25, 2012 and the parties agreed to a voluntary dismissal of the case with prejudice on March 24, 2010. The dismissal stated that Peoplemark was the "prevailing party" for purposes of assessing fees under § 706(k) of Title VII.
After the action was dismissed, Peoplemark moved for attorneys' fees, expert fees, sanctions and costs. The district court ultimately granted the company fees, including attorneys' fees, expert witness fees and expenses.
