When the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accuses his clients of discrimination, Gerald Maatman Jr. of Seyfarth Shaw doesn’t just defeat the government’s claims. Instead, Maatman has a knack for shining a light on the EEOC’s own practices, embarrassing the agency and vindicating employers in the process.
In a remarkably harsh ruling issued on Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit tossed the EEOC’s claims that Seyfarth client Kaplan Inc. and related entities violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by using credit checks that disproportionately impact Hispanic and African-American job applicants. The decision opens with a zinger, noting that the EEOC “sued the defendants for using the same type of background check the EEOC itself uses.”
