302
Thomas, J., dissenting
v. Moody, 422 U. S. 405, 415-416 (1975) ("The [Title VII] scheme implicitly recognizes that there may be cases calling for one remedy but not another, and . . . these choices are, of course, left in the first instance to the district courts"); Selgas v. American Airlines, Inc., 104 F. 3d 9, 13, n. 2 (CA1 1997) ("It is clear that in a Title VII case, it is the court which has discretion to fashion relief comprised of the equitable remedies it sees as appropriate, and not the parties which may determine which equitable remedies are available").
Had Congress wished to give the EEOC the authority to determine whether a particular remedy is appropriate under § 2000e-5, it clearly knew how to draft language to that effect. See § 2000e-16(b) (providing that the EEOC shall have the authority to enforce § 2000e-16(a)'s prohibition of employment discrimination within federal agencies "through appropriate remedies, including reinstatement or hiring of employees with or without back pay, as will effectuate the policies of this section"). But Congress specifically declined to grant the EEOC such authority when it empowered the Commission to bring lawsuits against private employers. Both the original House version and the original Senate version of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 would have granted the EEOC powers similar to those possessed by the National Labor Relations Board to adjudicate a complaint and implement a remedy. See H. R. 1746, 92d Cong., 1st Sess., § 706(h) (1971), and S. 2515, 92d Cong., 1st Sess., § 4(h) (1971), reprinted in Legislative History of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, pp. 7-8, 164- 165. These bills were amended, however, once they reached the floor of both Houses of Congress to replace such "ceaseand-desist" authority with the power only to prosecute an
prevents the EEOC from choosing to file suit in any appropriate judicial district set forth in § 2000e-5(f)(3). Rather, the Court of Appeals' holding only limits the remedies that the EEOC may obtain when it decides to institute a judicial action. See 193 F. 3d, at 806-807.
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