UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

CASE NO. 22-14339-CIV-MARTINEZ/MAYNARD

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT

OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION,

Plaintiff,

v.

THE CRAB STOP SEAFOOD BAR &

GRILL, LLC, and THE CRAB STOP

SEAFOOD BAR & GRILL II, LLC,

Defendants.

__________________________________/

ORDER ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO COMPEL

DISCOVERY RESPONSES [DE 40]

THIS CAUSE comes before me upon the above-referenced Motion. I have considered the 

entire record, the Motion and the related briefing, and the applicable case law. For the following 

reasons, the Motion is DENIED.

BACKGROUND

On September 30, 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the 

“EEOC”) initiated this action against The Crab Stop Bar and Seafood Grill, LLC (“Crab Stop I”) 

and The Crab Stop Bar and Seafood Grill II, LLC (“Crab Stop II”) (collectively, “Defendants”). 

On July 14, 2023, the EEOC filed a four-count Second Amended Complaint1against Defendants. 

DE 43. Pursuant to 703(a)(1) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e2(a)(1), the EEOC’s claims against 

1 On July 14, 2023, EEOC also filed a Motion for Leave to Amend its Complaint. DE 44. In the Motion for Leave, 

EEOC seeks leave to file a Third Amended Complaint to assert facts supporting the allegation that Crab Stop II is a 

successor-in-interest to The Crab Stop & Seafood Market of Vero Beach, LLC (“Crab Stop of Vero Beach”). Id. at

2. Defendants initially opposed EEOC’s Motion for Leave but later filed a Notice of Non-Opposition to EEOC’s 

Motion to Amend. DE 45. EEOC subsequently filed its Third Amended Complaint on July 27, 2023 (DE 46), which 

includes the successor-in-interest allegations relating to the Crab Stop of Vero Beach. Because EEOC’s Motion for 

Leave remains pending, I shall refer to the Second Amended Complaint as the operative pleading. 

Case 2:22-cv-14339-JEM Document 51 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/10/2023 Page 1 of 7
2

Defendants are premised on the alleged hostile work environment and retaliation experienced by 

charging parties Caroline Mills (“Mills”) and Michaela Farrell (“Farrell”) (“Charging Parties”). 

The Second Amended Complaint asserts claims against Defendants for hostile work 

environment in violation of Section 703(a)(1) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1) (Count I); 

retaliation in violation of Section 704(a) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a) (Count II); hostile 

work environment in violation of Section 703(a)(1) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e2(a)(1) (Count 

III); and constructive discharge in violation of Section 703(a)(1) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 

2000e2(a)(1) (Count IV). DE 43 at ¶¶ 55-70. 

DISCUSSION

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b) provides in pertinent part, that “[p]arties may obtain 

discovery regarding any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party's claim or defense and 

proportional to the needs of the case[.]” Information is relevant if it appears reasonably calculated 

to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). Indeed, the scope of 

discovery is broad, and to sustain discovery objections to a motion to compel, the objecting party 

“must, therefore, show that the requested discovery has no possible bearing on the claims and 

defenses in this case.” Milinazzo v. State Farm Ins. Co., 247 F.R.D. 691, 695 (S.D. Fla. 2007); 

Panola Land Buyers Ass’n v. Shuman, 762 F.2d 1550, 1559 (11th Cir. 1985) (the party resisting 

discovery bears the burden of showing the discovery requests to be improper, unreasonable, or 

burdensome). 

Defendants seek to compel the EEOC to provide the Charging Parties’ medical bills (RFP 

No. 6), resumes (RFP No. 7), and tax returns (RFP No. 8).

2

2 Since the filing of Defendants’ Motion, Defendants’ at-issue requests regarding interrogatories have been resolved. 

More specifically, Defendants moved to compel responses to Interrogatory Nos. 1 and 18, which relate to the proposed 

class action in Count V of the First Amended Complaint and information about Kayla Chitty, the only proposed class 

member identified. The EEOC responded that it “intends to remove the class claims, including all claims related to 

Case 2:22-cv-14339-JEM Document 51 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/10/2023 Page 2 of 7
3

Request for Production No. 6 asks the EEOC to produce all medical records and bills 

relating to claims for physical or mental injuries on behalf of the Charging Parties. DE 40-1 at 21. 

In response, the EEOC agreed to provide the Charging Parties’ medical records but objected to 

producing billing records because the “EEOC is not including medical costs in its damages 

calculations and therefore such information is irrelevant.” DE 41 at 3. Defendants maintain that 

the billing records are relevant because they may include “dates of service and diagnosis.” DE 40 

at 5. The EEOC has agreed to provide the medical records, however, which will include that 

information. DE 41 at 4. Given that the EEOC is not seeking medical expense reimbursement,

and because the “dates of service and diagnosis” information is contained within the treatment 

notes being produced, I find that the Charging Parties’ medical bills are not relevant to the claims 

or defenses in this action. Thus, Defendants’ Motion is denied as to Request for Production No. 

6. See Morris v. Sequa Corp., 275 F.R.D. 562, 568 (N.D. Ala. 2011) (quashing in part subpoena 

for medical billing records in ADA action where “the cost of plaintiff's medical bills . . . is 

irrelevant”).

Request for Production No. 7 asks the EEOC to produce the Charging Parties’ resumes.

DE 40-1 at 22. In response, the EEOC produced much of the information typically found on a

resume, including position/title, rate of pay, and dates of employment for all employment after

Charging Parties were employed by Defendants. The EEOC objects, however, to revealing the 

Kayla Chitty in [a] Second Amended Complaint.” DE 41 at 2. The EEOC’s Second Amended Complaint, filed on 

July 14, 2023, removes the class action claim and any claims relating to Ms. Chitty. DE 43. Thus, Defendants’ 

Motion is denied as moot as to Interrogatory Nos. 1 and 18, and any discovery requests pertaining to Ms. Chitty. 

Defendants also moved to compel a response to Interrogatory No. 8, which asked the EEOC to “state the amount of 

damages sought by the EEOC along with an explanation as to how it arrived at that sum.” DE 40-1 at 8. The EEOC 

responded that it did not receive the work schedules from Defendants necessary to make the requested calculations 

until three days before Defendants filed their motion to compel and would serve Amended Interrogatory Responses 

containing the requested damages calculations by July 10, 2023. The EEOC subsequently filed a notice indicating 

that Amended Interrogatory Responses were served. DE 50. Defendants’ Motion regarding Interrogatory No. 8 is 

therefore denied as moot. 

Case 2:22-cv-14339-JEM Document 51 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/10/2023 Page 3 of 7
4

identity and location of Charging Parties’ current employment and disclosing Charging Parties’ 

work history before they were hired by Defendants. 

As the EEOC acknowledges, the work history of the Charging Parties after they left 

Defendants’ employ is relevant. In a discrimination case such as this, the victim of the alleged 

discrimination has a duty to mitigate damages by seeking comparable employment, U.S. E.E.O.C. 

v. Massey Yardley Chrysler Plymouth, Inc., 117 F.3d 1244, 1251 (11th Cir. 1997), and failure to 

mitigate is an affirmative defense. Munoz v. Oceanside Resorts, Inc., 223 F.3d 1340, 1347 (11th 

Cir. 2000); see also U.S. E.E.O.C. v. Nordstrom, Inc., No. 07-80894-CIV, 2008 WL 5070145, at 

*3 (S.D. Fla. Nov. 24, 2008) (finding that discovery requests seeking subsequent employment 

information is discoverable because “sources of income Claimants earned subsequent to 

employment with Defendant is relevant to the issue of mitigation of damages and a possible award 

of back pay”); Russell v. City of Tampa, Fla., No. 8:16-CV-912-T-30JSS, 2017 WL 2869518, at 

*5 (M.D. Fla. July 5, 2017) (“[A] former employee’s subsequent salary is relevant to the issue of 

mitigation of damages’ . . . Therefore, records of Plaintiff's current earnings from Loomis are 

relevant to Defendant's mitigation of damages defense as well as to the measure of Plaintiff's 

claims for front and back pay.” (citations and quotations omitted)). Recognizing this, EEOC has 

produced information regarding the Charging Parties’ position/title, rates of pay, and dates of 

employment since their employment with Defendants. DE 41 at 5. 

EEOC objects, however, to providing identities and contact information for current 

employers out of concerns that Defendants may attempt to interfere with the Charging Parties’ 

current employment in retaliation for bringing this lawsuit. DE 40-1 at 22; DE 41 n. 5. Defendants 

have not articulated how current employers’ identities are relevant and proportional to the needs 

of the case given the information already provided. Thus, to the extent Defendants’ request for 

Case 2:22-cv-14339-JEM Document 51 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/10/2023 Page 4 of 7
5

resumes seeks identities and contact information for current employers, Defendants’ Motion is 

denied. See Dos Santos v. AIDS Healthcare Found., Inc., No. 19-62336-CIV, 2020 WL 12182199, 

at *2 (S.D. Fla. July 24, 2020) (declining to order Plaintiff to identify his current employer due to

a genuine concern that his job would be at risk if he were to reveal the name of his current employer 

and the disclosure may impair his standing in his current company). 

EEOC also objects to disclosing the Charging Parties’ work histories for the time period 

before they worked for Defendants. Defendants say such information “outlines the progression of 

the charging parties’ skill set, job duties and personal work statements,” DE 40 at 6, but fail to 

identify how the charging parties’ skill set, job duties and personal work statements are relevant 

to any claim or defense in this case. Although such information may be relevant in certain Title 

VII contexts alleging adverse employment actions, see, e.g., Gutescu v. Carey Int'l, Inc., No. 01-

4026 CIV, 2003 WL 25589035, at *2 (S.D. Fla. June 24, 2003), that is not the case here. Charging 

Parties’ prior employment history has no apparent relation to whether Defendants created a hostile 

work environment, engaged in retaliation against Mills, or constructively discharged Farrell. See

Maxwell v. Health Ctr. of Lake City, Inc., No. 3:05CV1056-J-32MCR, 2006 WL 1627020, at *4 

(M.D. Fla. June 6, 2006) ([T]his Court finds that documents showing Plaintiff's prior work history, 

including periods of unemployment, have no relevance on her performance or periods of 

unemployment during the time she was employed by Defendant.”). Defendants’ motion for 

disclosure of prior work history is therefore denied.

Request for Production No. 8 seeks the Charging Parties’ tax returns. DE 40-1 at 23. In 

response to Request for Production No. 8, the EEOC agreed to produce the Charging Parties’ “W2s 

and/or IRS wage transcripts . . . for any employment subsequent to their employment with 

Defendants,” but objects to producing the requested tax returns on the grounds that the request is 

Case 2:22-cv-14339-JEM Document 51 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/10/2023 Page 5 of 7
6

overbroad in temporal scope and Defendants have no “sufficient basis” for entitlement to such 

financial records. DE 40-1 at 23. 

Defendants’ Motion narrows the temporal scope of Request for Production No. 8 and now 

seeksthe Charging Parties’ tax returns “from age of 18 onward.”3 DE 40 at 6. The EEOC responds 

that Defendants’ request is still overbroad in temporal scope and Defendants have demonstrated 

no need for the Charging Parties’ tax returns since the EEOC “has produced relevant wage and 

earnings information to Defendants in the form of W-2s and IRS wage transcripts for the full 

period that Charging Parties’ are seeking backpay.” DE 41 at 6. 

I find that Defendants are not entitled to the Charging Parties’ tax returns. Regarding the

request for the Charging Parties’ tax returns prior to their employment with Defendants, 

Defendants have failed to identify any reason the Charging Parties’ earnings history prior to their 

employment with Defendants is relevant. As to the Charging Parties’ tax returns after their

employment with Defendants, the Defendants have failed to articulate what relevant information 

the tax returns would provide that the W-2s and IRS wage transcripts do not. Given that the EEOC 

has produced the relevant wage and earnings information through W-2s and transcripts, production 

of the Charging Parties’ tax returns is not proportional to the needs of this case. Defendants’ 

Motion is therefore denied as to Request for Production No. 8. 

Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Defendants’ Motion to 

Compel (DE 40) is DENIED. 

3

“Farrell turned 18 on August 10, 2016, and started working at Crab Stop three years later in August 2019,” and Mills 

turned 18 approximately a year before she started working at Crab Stop II in October 2019. DE 41 at 5; DE 7 at ¶¶

32-33. 

Case 2:22-cv-14339-JEM Document 51 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/10/2023 Page 6 of 7
7

DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at Fort Pierce, Florida, this 10th day of August, 

2023.

 

________________________________

SHANIEK MILLS MAYNARD

U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Case 2:22-cv-14339-JEM Document 51 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/10/2023 Page 7 of 7