EEOC Must Pay $4.5 Million In Legal Fees To Employer

A federal judge in Iowa recently ordered the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to pay $4.56 million in attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses to an interstate trucking company that successfully defended a sexual harassment class action. Last year, the court dismissed the federal agency’s suit in its entirety, finding no basis for “pattern or practice” claims or individual claims of bias under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. In granting the employer’s request for attorneys’ fees, the trial judge found that “the EEOC’s actions in pursuing this lawsuit were unreasonable, contrary to the procedure outlined by Title VII and imposed an unnecessary burden upon [the employer] and the court.” EEOC v. CRST Van Expedited Inc., No. 07-CV-0095 (February 9, 2010).