Supreme Court hears arguments on proper review of EEOC subpoena decisions

Partner Sage Knauft was quoted in Reuter’s Westlaw Employment Journal, where he offered analysis on the case before the Supreme Court, McLane Co. v. EEOC. The Supreme Court heard arguments on February 21 on whether appellate courts should defer to trial court decisions regarding Equal Employment Opportunity Commission subpoena requests or conduct a more factual inquiry.

In a case that could affect the future of EEOC discrimination litigation, attorneys for the agency and food distributor McLane Co. told the justices that an appellate court should consider only if a district court has abused its discretion in its ruling.

Without suggesting how the court may rule, Knauft noted that the justices asked very pointed questions. “Justice [Sonia] Sotomayor asked the court-appointed counsel why an abuse-of-discretion standard was not appropriate, given that this is the standard generally used to review a trial court’s rulings on relevance,” Knauft said.

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