The EEOC suffered another defeat this week, being ordered again to pay the fees and costs incurred by an employer after the EEOC’s claims turned out to be without merit. IN EEOC v. Peoplemark, Inc., A split 6th Circuit affirmed an award of approximately $750,000 in fees and costs incurred by a temp agency in defending against one of the EEOC’s criminal-history cases. The EEOC contended that the temp agency’s company-wide policy barring employment to individuals with felony records had a disparate impact on Black candidates.
The temp agency, PeopleMark, had offices in five states. In 2005, a Black candidate, Sherri Scott filed a Charge of Discrimination, alleging that she had been denied employment because she had a felony conviction. In fact, Scott had two felony convictions and had been released from prison less than a month before she applied for a job with PeopleMark.
And it gets worse. Continue reading →