Franklin & Marshall College v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Background

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigated an academic institution after a former assistant professor said the school denied tenure because of national origin. The EEOC issued a subpoena for faculty evaluations in every tenure decision from 1977 to the present. The agency said it would accept the records with names and identifying details removed. The institution refused, saying those peer review materials are confidential and should not be forced out without facts suggesting discrimination.

Reasoning

The key question was whether confidential peer review evaluations are protected from compulsory production in an EEOC discrimination probe unless there is some initial showing of discriminatory facts. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected the claimed confidentiality protection and ordered the materials produced. Another appeals court had reached a different conclusion in a prior case. The Supreme Court declined to review the Third Circuit’s decision, so that appellate ruling remains in effect for this case.

Real world impact

Because the Court refused review, the Third Circuit’s result allowing the EEOC to obtain these tenure evaluations stands in this dispute. The refusal leaves an acknowledged disagreement among courts unresolved nationally, so similar disputes may be decided differently in other appeals courts. The EEOC offered redacted documents, but the institution’s confidentiality claim was not accepted by the Third Circuit.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice White, joined by Justice Blackmun, disagreed with the denial and would have granted review to resolve the split among appeals courts on whether peer review materials are shielded from compelled production.