EEOC Slammed With $750K Fee Award For Pursuing Meritless Case

A sixth-circuit panel upheld the decision to assess the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission more than $750,000 in fees and costs for pursuing an action it knew to be without merit. While under investigation for a discrimination claim, temporary employment agency Peoplemark, Inc.’s associate general counsel told the EEOC the company had a blanket policy of rejecting felon applicants. Though the EEOC found no evidence of that policy in its investigation, it continued to pursue the case beyond the point when it should have concluded that it was without merit. The case is another example of courts more aggressively challenging the EEOC’s litigation tactics.