As noted in a SeyfarthShaw blog, the U.S. Supreme Court

issued its long-awaited decision in Mach Mining, LLC v. EEOC, No. 13-1019 (U.S. 2015), and concluded, in a unanimous opinion authored by Justice Kagan, that federal courts have the authority to review the EEOC’s conciliation efforts.  In language that is sure to be repeated back to the EEOC for years to come, the Supreme Court held that ‘[a]bsent such review, the Commission’s compliance with the law would rest in the Commission’s hands alone.’  This, the Supreme Court said, would be contrary to ‘the Court’s strong presumption in favor of judicial review of administrative action.’

While the Supreme Court did not rule that the intensive review that Mach Mining argued for was required, the case nevertheless represents a significant win for employers and resounding defeat for the EEOC. The EEOC will no longer be able to file suit against employers after paying mere lip-service to its conciliation efforts, and to give them the back of the hand in response to requests for fulsome information about liability and exposure in a threatened lawsuit. And employers will as a result be in a better position to settle meritorious claims on reasonable terms before the EEOC files suit, thus saving employers from unnecessary litigation expense.