Practice: Overbroad agency requests for information

One of the necessary powers of an agency entrusted with enforcement is inquiry--the power to demand information relevant to its regulatory responsibilities. When this is civil rather than criminal enforcement, Fourth Amendment limits do not apply or do not apply as strictly. However, due process rights still limit what information an agency can demand. An example is described in "Another Federal Court Refuses To Enforce Overly Broad EEOC Subpoena" by Brian Hall (Porter Wright, Columbus, Ohio) on his firm's Employer Law Report. Opening paragraph:

We previously have reported on the EEOC's increasingly aggressive agenda to expand the scope of its charge investigations by subpoenaing employer documents that far exceed any potential need. Fortunately, many federal courts have rejected these fishing expeditions. EEOC v. Loyola University Medical Center presents another good example.

This review is written from viewpoint of the regulated entity, and does not fully explain why the subpoena in this case is overbroad. Still useful, however. EMM

More on this case in "EEOC's Subpoena Thwarted, Despite Supposedly Time-Barred Response". EMM