©2026 Seyfarth Shaw LLP EEOC-INITIATED LITIGATION: 2026 EDITION | 80 training, and other human resources policies. A diverse assortment of institutional changes may be required by the EEOC. In some cases, the EEOC will demand changes to an employer’s policies that go beyond what is necessarily required by law. • Mandatory Anti-Discrimination Training: Most Decrees also include mandatory EEO training programs. The programs most often consist of diversity, racial/gender sensitivity, and non‑harassment training. Training of senior executives and management is nearly always required, but an employer also may be directed to train nearly all of its employees. The scope and cost of such training can be substantial. • Reporting and Monitoring: Virtually all Decrees have some ongoing reporting and monitoring requirements. At a minimum, an employer ordinarily will be required to notify the EEOC when it has complied with certain provisions (e.g., a report on when payment was issued, when training has been conducted, the timing of policy revisions, etc.). The reporting provisions, however, can be far more invasive, requiring employers to update the EEOC on any similar internal claims of discrimination and how they were resolved, providing applicant flow and hiring data in a recruiting case, and detailed reports of any discipline that has been administered if discipline was at issue in the underlying case. The Decree often includes a commitment that the employer will retain and produce documents concerning Decree compliance, will make employees available for interviews, and could even allow the EEOC to access the employers worksites. • Posting: In almost all cases, the employer is required to post a notice visible to all employees that the EEOC brought a lawsuit, that it was resolved via a Consent Decree, explaining that the employer is forbidden from violating certain EEO laws, and providing contact information for the EEOC. There are, of course, other more “exotic” forms of relief found in Decrees, including set hiring efforts, public statements by company leadership encouraging diversity, letters of apology to alleged victims, the hiring of outside experts to guide policy review, the formation of new internal organizations and positions to ensure Decree compliance, and so on. All terms of a Consent Decree are subject to negotiation, and employers are not compelled to agree to any provision. As will be discussed below, the terms the EEOC demands in settlement are often far broader than injunctive relief that is typically ordered by a District Court even when the EEOC is successful a trial. NOTABLE FY 2025 RESOLUTIONS THROUGH CONSENT DECREES EEOC v. v. Heart of Texas Goodwill Industries, Inc., Case No. 6:24-cv-00498 (W.D. Tex.) A Texasbased non-profit retailer resolved the EEOC’s lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by agreeing to pay $75,000 to settle disability discrimination claims. The employer allegedly refused to consider an applicant who was deaf for a position at its Killeen store and failed to follow up on the applicant’s request for accommodation to use a cellphone to communicate. In addition to monetary damages, the company signed a three-year Consent Decree that required it to distribute an ADA policy and provide ADA training to employees with human resources responsibilities or involved in recruitment and/or training. The decree also required the employer to hearing-impaired employees an opportunity to specify a preferred method of communication during the application process. EEOC v. Leopalace Guam Corporation dba Leopalace Resort, Case No.: 1:25-cv-00004 (Guam) A large hotel and resort on the U.S. territory of Guam agreed to pay $1.4 million to non-Japanese employees in Guam who were allegedly provided less favorable wages and benefits than their Japanese counterparts. In resolving this national origin discrimination action, the employer also agreed to comprehensive injunctive relief remedies, including hiring an external equal employment opportunity monitor to oversee compliance, training and review of policies and procedures, as well as overseeing the reinstatement of former employees who were interested in returning to work for LeoPalace. The Consent Decree has a term of three years.
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