EEOC Limits Power to Bring ‘Pattern or Practice’ Bias Claims (1)

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission doesn’t have authority to sue employers over sweeping job patterns or practices that allegedly lead to workplace bias without first going through procedural steps laid out by federal law, the agency said in an opinion letter released Thursday.

The agency said a worker must file a discrimination charge with the agency, and attempt to resolve the dispute through conciliation, before the EEOC can bring a “pattern or practice” suit against an employer under Section 707 of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The opinion letter comes one week after the agency held ...