EEOC May Pursue ‘Pattern or Practice’ Cases

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission may pursue a “pattern or practice” discrimination claim under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled June 17 (EEOC v. Bass Pro Outdoor World, LLC, 2016 BL 194793, 5th Cir., 15-20078, 6/17/16).

The decision potentially shifts the burden to employers to disprove bias at the remedial stage.

The EEOC can employ the bifurcated trial framework set out in Teamsters v. United States, 431 U.S. 324, even when it sues under Section 706 of the Civil Rights Act, the court said in ...