Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Shell Oil Co. (466 U.S. 54)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 2, 1984 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 466 U.S. 54 · 104 S. Ct. 1621
- Decided
- April 2, 1984
- Term
- October Term 1983
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Marshall
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court. Section 707(e) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, authorizes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) “to investigate and act on a charge” that an employer has engaged in “a pattern or practice” of employment discrimination. Section 706(b) and regulations promulgated thereunder govern the form and content of such a charge and the manner in which the employer should be notified of the allegations of wrongdoing contained therein. The question presented in this case is how much information must be included in the charge and provided to the employer before the Commission may secure judicial enforcement of an administrative subpoena compelling the employer to disclose personnel records and other material relevant to the charge. I On September 27, 1979, Commissioner Eleanor Holmes Norton, then Chair of the EEOC, issued a sworn charge, alleging that respondent, Shell Oil Co., “has violated and continues to violate Sections 703 and 707 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, by discriminating against Blacks and females on the basis of race and sex with respect to recruitment, hiring, selection, job assignment, training, testing, promotion, and terms and conditions of employment.” App. to Pet. for Cert. 44a. The charge specified respondent’s Wood River Refinery as the locale of the alleged…
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