Appeals court revives EEOC suit against Sterling

New York--The 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has revived the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s lawsuit against Sterling Jewelers Inc., which accuses the retailer of passing women over for promotions and paying them less than their male counterparts. 

On Wednesday, a three-judge panel vacated the decision of the U.S. District Court in Buffalo to throw out the case because the EEOC failed to prove it had conducted a thorough, nationwide pre-suit investigation of Sterling’s employment practices.

Agreeing with the EEOC, which appealed the dismissal in May 2014, the judges noted that Title VII allows the courts to review whether the EEOC conducted an investigation in a case but not to examine the adequacy of the investigation.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin and it is the act under which the EEOC is bringing its case against Sterling.

“For a court to second guess the choices made by the EEOC in conducting an investigation, ‘is not to enforce the law Congress wrote, but to impose extra procedural requirements. Such judicial review extends too far,’” the judges noted in their ruling.

The appeals court remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Sterling parent company Signet Jewelers Ltd. said it has taken the allegations of pay and promotion discrimination raised in the EEOC case “very seriously and investigated them thoroughly.” They are not substantiated by the facts, Signet said.

The company also pointed out that Wednesday’s ruling does not address the merits of the case, and that it will continue to defend itself against these “unjustified legal claims.”

“We have created strong career opportunities for many thousands of women working at our stores nationwide. As a result of our employment and advancement programs, as well as our culture, the great majority of our store management staff--more than seven in 10 of our assistant managers and six in 10 of our store managers--are female.”

EEOC attorney Nora Curtin did not respond to request for comment on the ruling.

The EEOC first brought suit against Sterling Jewelers, which owns and operates Kay Jewelers and Jared the Galleria of Jewelry, in September 2008. Filed on behalf of 44,000 female employees, it is believed to be the largest suit ever brought by the EEOC.

A separate lawsuit