Employers who succeed or fail in blocking an investigative subpoena by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will find the district court’s decision likely to survive on appeal under a standard the U.S. Supreme Court announced on Monday.
In McLane Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the justices, in a 7-1 ruling, said federal appellate courts should review challenges to a subpoena under the deferential “abuse of discretion” standard. The majority, led by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, rejected the tougher “de novo” review that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit applied.
