Opinion ID: 764164
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: eeoc's authority to seek equitable relief

Text: 64 Aside from dismissing the EEOC's claim to monetary relief, the district court proceeded to dismiss that portion of the EEOC complaint seeking equitable relief, as well, stating: 65 The EEOC's lawsuit may not proceed for injunctive relief on behalf of a class of individuals allegedly discriminated against because of race simply because the EEOC, in this instance, has neither identified, nor pled in their complaint, any facts or allegations that a class of individuals were discriminated against on the basis of their race The EEOC has pled only that Adams was discriminated against on account of her race. 66 Id. Because the district court impermissibly required the EEOC to plead a class action in the same manner that an ordinary litigant must, we disagree. 67 As the district court itself recognized, the EEOC may obtain an injunction against further violations of Title VII, on behalf of a class of individuals, if it can prove unlawful discrimination. See Frank's Nursery, 966 F.Supp. at 505. An individual litigant seeking relief for a class under Title VII must demonstrate numerosity, commonality and typicality of class member claims. See General Tel., 446 U.S. at 330. However, it is well settled that the EEOC need not comply with the procedural requirements of Rule 23 in seeking classwide injunctive relief. See id. Thus, to the extent that the district court dismissed the EEOC's attempt to enjoin Frank's from engaging in discriminatory practices on the basis of race and to obtain an order requiring Frank's to provide equal employment opportunities for African Americans, it erroneously required the EEOC to demonstrate the existence of a class before it could seek relief extending to a class of individuals. 68 As noted above, Title VII provides that the EEOC may recover injunctive relief upon a showing of intentional employment discrimination. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(g)(1). Indeed, upon a finding of any intentional employment discrimination, a district court possesses broad discretion to craft an injunction that will ensure the employer's compliance with the law. See Wilson Metal Casket, 24 F.3d at 842 (citing Lemon v. Kurtzman, 411 U.S. 192, 201, 93 S.Ct. 1463, 36 L.Ed.2d 151 (1973)). Thus, the EEOC may obtain such general injunctive relief, under the equitable discretion of the district court, even where the EEOC only identifies one or a mere handful of aggrieved employees. See EEOC v. Monarch Mach. Tool Co., 737 F.2d 1444, 1449 (6th Cir.1980); see also EEOC v. Ilona of Hungary, Inc., 108 F.3d 1569, 1578 (7th Cir.1997); Harris Chernin, 10 F.3d at 1292. Indeed, the EEOC may seek injunctive relief to correct discrimination uncovered during its investigation of the charge of just one individual. See McLean Trucking, 525 F.2d at 1010 & n. 8. The EEOC may obtain a permanent injunction even where it does not allege a pattern or policy of discrimination. See, e.g., EEOC v. HBE Corp., 135 F.3d 543, 557 (8th Cir.1998); Ilona of Hungary, 108 F.3d at 1578. 69 It is clear that the EEOC may obtain equitable relief that protects a class of persons from unlawful employment discrimination without citing numerous instances of such discrimination. While the right to such relief is not absolute, and the power to order it rests in the hands of the lower courts, the EEOC may seek it upon proof even of just one instance of discrimination that violates Title VII. In seeking such relief, the EEOC need not identify a class or its numbers, or even identify a pattern or practice of discrimination. See General Tel., 446 U.S. at 330. Therefore, the district court erred when it barred the EEOC from seeking general injunctive relief on the grounds that did not sufficiently plead a class of individuals who were victims of discrimination on the basis of race at Frank's.