Supreme Court: District Court EEOC Subpoena Enforcement Decisions Subject To Abuse Of Discretion

Linda Auerbach Allderdice is a Partner and John Haney and Juan Rodriguez are Associates in the Los Angeles office

HIGHLIGHTS:

In McLane Co., Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Supreme Court of the United States held that a district court's decision to enforce or quash a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) subpoena must be reviewed for abuse of discretion, not de novo review. Given the deferential nature of the abuse of discretion standard, this decision will raise the stakes associated with district court EEOC subpoena enforcement proceedings in the Ninth Circuit, the only Circuit that previously applied a de novo standard of review for such proceedings on appeal. Going forward, employers served with an EEOC subpoena should pay special attention to asserting comprehensive objections to the subpoena where appropriate, and to raising all available defenses in any district court enforcement proceedings in the Ninth Circuit, given that it will now be more difficult to prevail on an appeal of an adverse district court enforcement decision. The Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision on April 3, 2017, in McLane Co., Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a case which presented the question of what the appropriate standard of appellate review is for a district court's decision to enforce or quash a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) subpoena. In a 7-1 decision, the Supreme Court held that a district court's decision whether to enforce or quash an EEOC subpoena must be reviewed for abuse of discretion, not de novo review as was previously applied by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the only circuit that used such a standard.

EEOC Launched Investigation into McLane Co. After Charge of Discrimination Filed

McLane Co. Inc. (McLane Co.) is a supply chain services company and employs cigarette selectors to work in its distribution centers. Cigarette selectors are required to lift, pack and move large bins containing products. As this job is physically demanding, McLane Co. requires new employees, and employees returning from medical leave, to take a physical evaluation that tests an employee's range of motion, resistance and speed. The evaluation is designed and administered by a third party.

Damiana Ochoa (Ochoa) was a cigarette selector for McLane Co. In 2007, Ochoa took three months of maternity leave and, upon her return to work, McLane Co. asked her to take...

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