When a taxpayer-funded agency mistakenly targets individuals or companies, sometimes it ends up backfiring.
When the EEOC wrongly targeted a company–costing the company millions in attorneys’ fees and expenses–eventually, a judge ruled that the EEOC’s case was flawed and ordered the EEOC to pay the company moneys it had spent in defending itself.
A federal judge handed down an order last week telling the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to pay Cedar Rapids-based CRST Van Expedited Inc. $4.7 million in attorneys’ fees and expenses that the trucking company racked up while fighting sexual harassment claims.
It was one of the largest fee awards ever demanded from the EEOC.
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In the most recent order, Reade wrote ”the EEOC cannot avoid liability for attorneys’ fees simply by artfully crafting a complaint using vague language to hide frivolous allegations.”
“We are deeply disappointed in the decision and are considering next steps,” an EEOC spokeswoman told Law360, a law industry website, on Friday.
Guess who really foots the bill for the EEOC’s mistake.
