As part of an investigation into whether the staffing company Aerotek Inc. engaged in age discrimination, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission demanded a list of many of Aerotek’s clients. The company’s lawyers called it a “fishing expedition,” but an appeals court disagreed and sided with the EEOC earlier this month. Employment lawyers say the ruling is a reminder of the EEOC’s broad investigatory powers.
In a 10-page ruling issued on March 4, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the enforceability of two EEOC administrative subpoenas seeking information about Aerotek’s clients and workers Aerotek placed at those clients. Aerotek’s lawyers argued that the subpoenas unnecessarily damaged Aerotek’s relationships with it clients. But the Seventh Circuit disagreed, writing that “the inquiry is within the authority of the EEOC and the information sought is clearly relevant to the agency’s investigation of age-related discrimination.”
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