EEOC Office of the General Counsel DAVID LOPEZ

EEOC Office of the General Counsel DAVID LOPEZ GENERAL COUNSEL EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION American Bar Association Washington, D. C. January 23, 2012

NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT MODEL Litigation program as an integrated community that allows best thinking to be available on every issue yet allows district offices to address issues in local district • Leverages technology for training and information sharing across district lines. • Field and Appellate work collaboratively • Development of litigation partnerships between offices • Work groups comprised of subject matter experts from across the nationwide, develop best practices in relevant areas • Encourage open forum and communication regarding issues • Eliminates counterproductive administrative hurdles so that lawyers can lawyer. • Build full capacity of all legal staff.

SYSTEMIC: GENERALLY Definition: Enforcement practices having significant impact on industry, geographic regions or large group of individuals. Number of Cases: 23 filed in FY 2011, highest in history. For the first time in history, the Commission has systemic litigation pending in all 15 district offices.

Systemic: Representative Cases o EEOC v. Roadway (N. D. Ill. 2010) (race harassment) o EEOC v. Verizon (D. Md. 2011) (no fault attendance program)

SYSTEMIC: HIRING COMMISSION MEETINGS o Credit Screens o Disparate Treatment o Arrest and Conviction Screens SIGNIFICANT RESOLUTIONS o EEOC v. Scrub, (race) (N. D. Ill. 2010) ($3, 000 settlement) o EEOC v. Cavalier, (age) (E. D. Va. 2011) ($1, 000 settlement)

SYSTEMIC: HIRING (continued) SIGNIFICANT FILINGS o EEOC v. Kaplan, (N. D. Ohio) (Nationwide race concerning credit checks). o EEOC v. Bass Pro, (E. D. Tex. ) (Nationwide race and national origin hiring) o EEOC v. Texas Roadhouse, (D. Mass. ) (Nationwide age hiring for front of the house positions)

SYSTEMIC: UNDERSERVED AND VULNERABLE POPULATIONS Commission Meeting o Human Trafficking Chair Initiative on Immigration-Related Employment Discrimination Resolutions and activities • • EEOC v. Trans. Bay, (C. D. Cal. 2006) ($1 million resolution in national origin harassment of Thai workers brought over on H-2 Visas) EEOC v. ABM, (E. D. Cal. 2010) ($5. 8 million resolution in sexual harassment class case involving more than 20 women) EEOC v. Evans Fruit, (E. D. Wash. 2010) (preliminary injunction in sexual harassment case involving farmworker women) EEOC v. Di. Mare Ruskin, (M. D. Fla. 2011) (alleged sexual harassment of women in agricultural industry)

SYSTEMIC: UNDERSERVED AND VULNERABLE POPULATIONS (continued) Significant Filings • EEOC v. Signal Int’l, LLC, (S. D. Miss. ) (National origin harassment involving East Indian workers on H-2 visas) • EEOC v. Hill Country Farm d/b/a Henry’s Turkey, (S. D. Iowa) (disability harassment involving a class of 21 intellectually disabled workers at a turkey evisceration plant).

TRIAL PROGRAM NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND TRIAL RESOURCES PROJECT SIGNIFICANT VERDICTS • EEOC v. Smith Personnel Services, (ADA, failure to hire, deaf) ($184, 000) • EEOC v. Karen. Kim, Inc. , (Title VII, class sexual harassment) (N. D. N. Y. 2011) ($1, 260, 080) (ten women) • EEOC v. Mid-American, (Title VII, class sexual harassment) (W. D. Tenn. 2011) ($1. 5 million) (three women) • EEOC v. Boh Brothers, (Title VII, same-sex sexual harassment) (S. D. La. 2011) ($451, 000) • EEOC v. Auto. Zone, (ADA, failure to accommodate and discharge, back impairment) (C. D. Ill. 2011) ($600, 000)

APPELLATE PROGRAM • Handles direct appeals of favorable and adverse decisions • Participates as amicus as a matter of right in appellate courts around the country

APPELLATE PROGRAM: AMICUS PROGRAM • Filed 30 amicus briefs during the past fiscal year • Jock v. Sterling, 646 F. 3 d 113 (2 d Cir. 2011)(class arbitration) • Dediol v. Best, (5 th Cir. 2011)(age harassment and constructive discharge)

APPELLATE PROGRAM: AMICUS PROGRAM Amicus Contacts: Leslie Annexstein – Leslie. Annexstein@EEOC. Gov Carolyn Wheeler Carolyn. Wheeler@EEOC. Gov

APPELLATE PROGRAM: SUPREME COURT • Staub v. Proctor Hosp. , 131 S. Ct. 1186 (2011) (employer not entitled to judgment as a matter of law regarding employee’s “cat’s paw” discrimination claim under USERRA). • Thompson v. N. Am. Stainless Steel, L. P. , 131 S. Ct. 863 (2011) (retaliation against individuals in charging party’s “zone of interest”). • Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. , 131 S. Ct. 1325 (2011) (oral complaints of discrimination under FLSA). • Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC, No. 10 -553, 2012 U. S. LEXIS 578 (2012) (first amendment free exercise clauses supported “ministerial exemption” in discrimination case: reversed Sixth Circuit determination that ministerial exemption apply to Lutheran school’s termination of teacher).

DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION: ADAAA In addition to ADAAA Regulations, Commission meetings on leave policies and intellectual disabilities, and extensive Outreach and Public Education. • Filed nearly 60 cases (up from 9 in 2010), many involving impairments such as diabetes, epilepsy, cancer, and intellectual disabilities. These impairments were often difficult to cover under the ADAAA. We are enforcing the law and building capacity nationally. Representative cases/significant settlements • • • EEOC v. Maxim Healthcare Servs. , (D. Minn. ) (ADAAA case, brain cancer) EEOC v. Starbucks, (N. D. Tex. 2011) (ADAAA Case, dwarfism) EEOC v. Fisher, Collins & Carter, Inc. , (D. Md. 2011) (ADAAA case, diabetes) EEOC v. Wal-Mart, (E. D. Tenn. 2011)(failure to accommodate following cancer surgery) EEOC v. Dodge’s Chicken, (W. D. Ark. 2011)(failure to provide reasonable accommodation following seizures)

THANK YOU!!!