Court Opinion

ID: 9476311
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 05:52:34.478221+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:45:14.464199
License: Public Domain

K.K. HALL, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
I cannot agree with the majority’s conclusion that timeliness is a jurisdictional prerequisite to the enforcement of this subpoena. Key to the majority’s decision is its unsupported belief that EEOC lacks authority to investigate claims which appear on their face to be filed untimely. Shell Oil, upon which the majority relies, provides no authority for this assertion. In Shell Oil, the Supreme Court held that EEOC may investigate only valid claims, but limited its definition of valid claims to those which meet the requirements of § 706(b). Significantly, § 706(b) does not mention timeliness.
The majority suggests that, “... there is no language in the (Shell Oil) opinion to indicate that the requirements of a valid charge were to be limited to those contained in § 706(b).” I disagree. In my view, Shell Oil’s definition of valid claims infers exclusivity, by stating that:
[i]f the EEOC were able to insist that an employer obey a subpoena despite failure of the complainant to file a valid charge, Congress’ desire to prevent the Commission from exercising unconstrained investigative authority would be thwarted. Accordingly, we hold that the existence of a charge that meets with the requirements set forth in § 706(b), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(b), is a jurisdictional prerequisite to judicial enforcement of a subpoena issued by the EEOC. Shell Oil, 466 U.S. 54, 65, 104 S.Ct. 1621, 1629, 80 L.Ed.2d 41 (1984).
I consider it speculative at best to assert that the Supreme Court intended to leave open the question of whether other claims are invalid, particularly in light of this plain language.
Moreover, I am unconvinced by the majority’s assertion that “ordinary logic” indicates that it is beyond the authority of EEOC to investigate seemingly untimely claims. I agree with its assertion that “ordinary logic indicates that it is beyond the authority to investigate charges which cannot be pursued.” However, in my view, it would be a rare case where timeliness *1384could be conclusively determined prior to subpoena enforcement. The majority suggests that this determination is easily made by comparing the date of alleged discrimination to the filing date listed on the claim. However, it is unclear to me how a claimant can be certain when the last date of discrimination occurred without being afforded the discovery benefit of subpoena enforcement. The system proposed by the majority, (i.e., of enforcing subpoenas only where there is concededly no timeliness problem or where the claimant is already aware of an issue of fact which brings timeliness into issue) does not address this problem.
I see no support for the majority’s conclusion that EEOC lacks investigative jurisdiction in this instance. I also believe that limiting such authority as suggested by the majority will prevent investigation of claims which would ultimately be determined timely given the benefits of subpoena enforcement. In my view, the majority has prematurely addressed timeliness in finding the subpoena unenforceable. I would affirm the judgment below. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.
I am authorized to state that Judge WINTER, Judge PHILLIPS, Judge SPROUSE, and Judge HAYNSWORTH join in this opinion.