306
Thomas, J., dissenting
The Court claims that three cases support its argument that the EEOC's claim is not "merely derivative" of an employee's claim. See Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp., 500 U. S., at 24; General Telephone Co. of Northwest v. EEOC, 446 U. S. 318, 325 (1980); Occidental Life Ins. Co. of Cal. v. EEOC, 432 U. S. 355, 368 (1977). Once the actual nature of the dispute is properly understood, however, it is apparent that these cases do not support the Court's position, for none of them suggests that the EEOC should be allowed to recover victim-specific relief on behalf of an employee who has waived his ability to obtain such relief for himself in court by signing a valid arbitration agreement.
In Gilmer, for example, this Court addressed whether arbitration procedures are inadequate in discrimination cases because they do not allow for "broad equitable relief and class actions." 500 U. S., at 32. Rejecting this argument, the Court noted that valid arbitration agreements "will not preclude the EEOC from bringing actions seeking class-wide and equitable relief." Ibid. Conspicuously absent from the Court's opinion, however, was any suggestion that the EEOC could obtain victim-specific relief on behalf of an employee who had signed a valid arbitration agreement. Cf. ibid.
Similarly, in General Telephone, this Court held only that lawsuits filed by the EEOC should not be considered representative actions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. In reaching this conclusion, the Court noted that "the EEOC is not merely a proxy for the victims of discrimination." 446 U. S., at 326. To be sure, I agree that to the extent the EEOC seeks broad-based declaratory and equitable relief in court, the Commission undoubtedly acts both as a representative of a specific employee and to "vindicate the public interest in preventing employment discrimination." Ibid. But neither this dual function nor anything in General Telephone detracts from the proposition that when the EEOC seeks to secure victim-specific relief in court, it may obtain
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