Ruling in a case involving FedEx, a federal court said if the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission wants to look at your hiring and personnel records, you have to open up those records. The case revolved around charges by a black employee who said the company’s used bias methods for testing and choosing people for promotions. The employee had already sued the company on his own, without assistance from EEOC.
The employee’s lawsuit served as the foundation for one of FedEx’s legal arguments against handing over the records to EEOC: Why should we let a government agency poke around our files when that agency isn’t even involved in the lawsuit?
Doesn’t matter, the court said. EEOC’s justification centered on the idea that the agency was conducting a wider investigation into whether the company’s promotion policies — and the policies of other employers — amounted to bias against minorities. The court agreed that, given the purpose of the investigation, the agency had a right to full access of the records.
The court’s OK covered all personnel records, including electronic versions.
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