Opinion ID: 723910
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: EEOC's Authority to Bring an Action

Text: 27 J & H argues that because none of its current or retired directors filed a charge with the EEOC challenging the mandatory retirement policy and none supports the EEOC's suit against J & H, the EEOC has no authority to bring the present action. Its argument is twofold: (1) the directors have expressly waived their putative individual claims against J & H under the ADEA, barring the EEOC from bringing suit on their behalf; and (2) the EEOC has no authority to enforce the ADEA under these circumstances. 28 First, J & H argues that affidavits submitted by its former directors opposing the EEOC's action against the firm constitute valid waivers of any ADEA claim by the directors' against their employer. This, J & H claims, bars the EEOC from pursuing the present suit. In support of its argument, J & H points to the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA), 29 U.S.C. § 626(f), as amended, which permits an individual to knowingly and voluntarily waive his right to sue his employer under the ADEA in certain circumstances. The affidavits signed and submitted by J & H's current and former directors, however, do not appear to satisfy the statutory criteria for a valid waiver, as set forth in 29 U.S.C. § 626(f)(1). 3 Notably, the affidavits do not reference the specific rights or claims that the directors purport to waive; nor do they include the required provision permitting revocation of the waiver within seven days. Furthermore, even if we assume that the directors' waivers conform to all statutory requirements and are otherwise valid, the OWBPA specifically provides that [n]o waiver agreement may affect the Commission's rights and responsibilities to enforce this chapter. Id. § 626(f)(4). Accordingly, if the EEOC has the authority to enforce the ADEA where there is no director willing to join the suit (an issue we address below), that authority cannot be altered by a waiver of the rights of a private party--even a private party with a direct interest in the subject of concern to the EEOC. 29 This brings us to the question of the scope of the EEOC's enforcement authority under the ADEA where no director who has retired under the mandatory policy has filed a charge with the EEOC, and indeed, none supports the lawsuit. Pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 626, the EEOC may commence actions in district court to obtain both legal and equitable relief. Furthermore, under § 626(b), the ADEA specifically incorporates the enforcement provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. Those provisions endow the EEOC with broad enforcement powers. Section 16(c) of the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. § 216(c), authorizes the EEOC to bring actions on behalf of aggrieved employees and to seek relief including back wages and liquidated damages. Under section 17, 29 U.S.C. § 217, the EEOC has the separate and independent power to investigate possible violations and to institute injunctive proceedings. See Brock v. Superior Care, Inc., 840 F.2d 1054, 1062-63 (2d Cir.1988). Under the EEOC's own regulations, the Commission has the power to bring an action even when the aggrieved party does not wish to proceed. See 29 C.F.R. § 1626.13 (1995) (Because the Commission has independent investigative authority, see § 1626.4, it may continue any investigation and may secure relief for all affected persons notwithstanding a request by a charging party to withdraw a charge.). 30 Many courts have acknowledged the EEOC's independent authority to bring suit against an employer. In a case exempting the EEOC from the traditional rules of class certification, the Supreme Court noted that the EEOC has the authority to bring suit independent of any private plaintiff's rights: [T]he EEOC is not merely a proxy for the victims of discrimination.... Although [it] can secure specific relief, such as hiring or reinstatement ..., on behalf of discrimination victims, the agency is guided by 'the overriding public interest in equal employment opportunity ... asserted through direct Federal enforcement.'  General Tel. Co. of the Northwest, Inc. v. EEOC, 446 U.S. 318, 326, 100 S.Ct. 1698, 1704, 64 L.Ed.2d 319 (1980) (quoting 118 Cong. Rec. 4941 (1972)). Also, in dicta the Court has stated that the EEOC's role in combating age discrimination is not dependent on the filing of a charge; the agency may receive information concerning alleged violations of the ADEA from any source, and it has independent authority to investigate age discrimination. Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp., 500 U.S. 20, 28, 111 S.Ct. 1647, 1653, 114 L.Ed.2d 26 (1991) (quotation marks omitted). 31 J & H does not dispute the EEOC's broad power to investigate discrimination in the absence of an official charge or its authority to proceed with its suit in the public interest after the employee who originally filed the charge has settled. However, it seeks to distinguish those circumstances from the instant case--in which J & H claims there is no aggrieved party at all. This argument has some appeal, inasmuch as it appears anomalous that the EEOC should be authorized to bring suit on behalf of individuals who do not believe themselves to be victims of discrimination and who seem to have no interest in pursuing a suit against their employer. Nonetheless, even if J & H's current and former directors are pleased with the policy now in force, and may indeed benefit from a generous retirement package, that does not mean that the policy has not caused or will not in the future cause some tangible injury. Significantly, the retirement policy prevents any employee over the age of 62 from ever being considered for a directorship and requires prospective directors to choose between early retirement or forfeiting a directorship. 32 We do not find it significant that no J & H employee has filed a charge with the EEOC. Other courts have found that the EEOC may file suit where a charge was not filed by the affected employee. In EEOC v. American & Efird Mills, Inc., 964 F.2d 300, 304 (4th Cir.1992), the Fourth Circuit stated that [u]nlike the limited authority given the EEOC under Title VII ... the ADEA gives the EEOC authority to investigate and enforce independent of individual employee charges. (Emphasis added.) Similarly, in EEOC v. Air Line Pilots Ass'n, 885 F.Supp. 289, 292-93 (D.D.C.1995), a district court held that the EEOC had independent authority to file a civil suit in its own name when it learned of an additional instance of discrimination through its investigation of a separate charge filed with the agency. See also EEOC v. Reichhold Chemicals, Inc., 700 F.Supp. 524, 527 (N.D.Fla.1988) ([W]here the EEOC, in the course of investigating a charge of discrimination, develops facts which lead it to believe that a separate, uncharged ... form of discrimination has occurred, it may ... file suit.). These are the precise circumstances before us. Accordingly, in light of the strong public interest in eradicating age discrimination for future J & H directors and the EEOC's broad statutory power to enforce the ADEA, we find that the EEOC has the authority to pursue the present suit against J & H despite the fact that no current or former director complains of the challenged policy.