Mach Mining, LLC, v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (575 U.S. 480)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 29, 2015 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 575 U.S. 480 · 135 S. Ct. 1645
- Decided
- April 29, 2015
- Term
- October Term 2014
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Kagan
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice KAGANdelivered the opinion of the Court. Before suing an employer for discrimination, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) must try to remedy unlawful workplace practices through informal methods of conciliation. This case requires us to decide whether and how courts may review those efforts. We hold that a court may review whether the EEOC satisfied its statutory obligation to attempt conciliation before filing suit. But we find that the scope of that review is narrow, thus recognizing the EEOC's extensive discretion to determine the kind and amount of communication with an employer appropriate in any given case. I Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 241, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.,sets out a detailed, multi-step procedure through which the Commission enforces the statute's prohibition on employment discrimination. The process generally starts when "a person claiming to be aggrieved" files a charge of an unlawful workplace practice with the EEOC. § 2000e-5(b). At that point, the EEOC notifies the employer of the complaint and undertakes an investigation. See ibid.If the Commission finds no "reasonable cause" to think that the allegation has merit, it dismisses the charge and notifies the parties. Ibid.The complainant may then pursue her own lawsuit if she chooses. See § 2000e-5(f)(1). If, on the other hand, the Commission…
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