Court Issues Mixed Bag Discovery Decision In EEOC Nationwide Race Discrimination Case

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In EEOC v. DolGenCorp, LLC d/b/a Dollar General, No. 13-CV-4307 (N.D. Ill.), a case we blogged about previously here, Judge Andrea Wood of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently decided several discovery issues that have become increasingly common in large-scale, EEOC-initiated disparate impact litigation.

Judge Wood’s ruling is a mixed bag. On the one hand, Judge Wood allowed the EEOC to take discovery on certain background checks performed by Dollar General even though the EEOC did not claim that those background checks had a disparate impact. She also ruled that the EEOC could exceed the presumptive 25 interrogatory limit because the case was nationwide in scope.  She further held that pre-suit statistical analyses performed by the EEOC were protected by the deliberative process privilege. On the other hand, she ruled that EEOC documents subject to the deliberative process privilege may nonetheless be discoverable if an employer can demonstrate a particularized need for the materials that outweighs the EEOC’s need for confidentiality.

Case Background

The EEOC filed suit against Dollar General, alleging that Dollar General’s use of criminal background checks for applicants is discriminatory because it has a disparate impact on African-American job applicants. During the course of discovery, the EEOC sought information regarding other background checks performed by Dollar General. Dollar General refused to turn them over, arguing that the other background checks were not relevant to the EEOC’s claims.

Also during discovery, the EEOC served more than 25 interrogatories on Dollar General. In turn, Dollar General refused to answer four of the interrogatories that exceeded the presumptive 25 interrogatory limit under the applicable local rules.

Finally, Dollar General sought any statistical analyses the EEOC had regarding the purported disparate impact of Dollar General’s background check policy. The EEOC refused to turn its pre-suit analyses over, claiming that they were protected by the deliberative process privilege.

Both parties moved to compel discovery. Magistrate Judge Sheila Finnegan granted the EEOC’s motions to compel and denied Dollar General’s motion to compel. Dollar General subsequently filed Rule 72 objections to Magistrate Judge Finnegan’s report and recommendation.

The Court’s Decision

The Court began by considering whether Dollar General should be compelled to turn over documents regarding other, non-challenged background screening used by Dollar General.  Judge Wood held that the documents were relevant to Dollar General’s business necessity defense.  Id. at 4. Specifically, Judge Wood held that the EEOC was entitled to respond to Dollar General’s business necessity defense by showing that alternative, equally effective background checks were available to Dollar General. The Court found that the non-challenged background screening performed by Dollar General might represent such alternative background checks. Id. at 4-5.

The Court then rejected Dollar General’s argument that the EEOC was required to investigate any background checks it claimed were relevant before filing suit. Id. at 5. The Court held that such investigation would only be necessary if the EEOC was claiming the background checks had a disparate impact. Id. Because the EEOC was not challenging these other background screenings, the Court compelled Dollar General to turn over documents about its other background checks. Id.

The Court then addressed the excess interrogatories. The Court held that the EEOC was allowed to exceed 25 interrogatories because its claim was “nationwide in scope, raise[d] complicated data issues, and involve[d] many different legal and factual areas.” Id. at 7-8.

The Court next considered whether Dollar General could discover the EEOC’s pre-suit statistical analyses of Dollar General’s background check policies. After noting that “[t]he deliberative process privilege protects communications that are part of the decision-making process of a governmental agency,” the Court found that these analyses were protected by the deliberative process privilege because they were performed as the EEOC was determining whether to sue Dollar General. Id. at 8-9.

Nevertheless, the Court held that the EEOC might nonetheless be required to turn the analyses over if Dollar General could demonstrate a “particularized need for the documents that exceeds the EEOC’s need for confidentiality.” Id. at 11. The Court then remanded the issue to the Magistrate Judge so that she could decide whether Dollar General could make such a showing.

Implications For Employers

Employers involved in litigation with the EEOC should be aware of this decision because the EEOC will undoubtedly rely upon it when it seeks discovery regarding non-challenged employment policies and when it seeks to serve excess interrogatories in complex, nationwide cases. The EEOC will also try to use the ruling to shield any pre-suit statistical analyses it performed from discovery. However, employers also can use decision to support discovery gambits vis-à-vis the Commission; even if the EEOC’s pre-suit statistical analyses are protected by the deliberative process privilege, they are nonetheless subject to discovery because of some particularized need.

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