Is it possible for the EEOC to pursue entirely victim-specific relief and yet be seeking to vindicate a public interest? Explain

Answer 1

Whenever the EEOC chooses from among the many charges filed each year to bring an enforcement action in a particular case, the agency may be seeking to vindicate a public interest, not simply provide make-whole relief for the employee, even when it pursues entirely victim-specific relief. In FY 2000, the EEOC received 79,896 charges of employment discrimination. It found reasonable cause in 8,248 charges and no reasonable cause in 54,578 charges. It filed suits and/or intervened in just 402 cases in that period. The wise selection of cases to be prosecuted in the courts by the EEOC will result in the federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court serving the public interest by establishing precedents to guide arbitrators in their resolution of individual employment claims submitted to arbitration. Precluding the development of case law regarding victim-specific remedies would have an adverse impact on the arbitration process.