## Facts

- Larry Dilligard, a Black male applicant, applied for employment with Sherwood Medical Industries, Inc. and was not hired.
- Dilligard filed an EEOC charge alleging he was denied employment because of race.
- After investigating, the EEOC issued a reasonable-cause determination finding race discrimination and referencing exclusion of Black applicants, particularly Black men.
- The EEOC engaged in conciliation efforts with Sherwood, but the discussions addressed only Dilligard’s race-discrimination claim.
- After conciliation failed, the EEOC filed a Title VII enforcement action alleging (1) race discrimination and (2) sex discrimination against men.
- Sherwood moved to dismiss the sex-discrimination claim.

## Issues

1. Whether the EEOC may include a sex-discrimination claim in its federal complaint when the underlying administrative charge alleged only race discrimination.
2. Whether the EEOC satisfied Title VII’s conciliation prerequisite as to sex discrimination where conciliation addressed only the race-discrimination allegations.
3. Whether a sex-discrimination-against-men theory is sufficiently “like or reasonably related to” the race-discrimination charge to fall within the permissible scope of the EEOC’s civil action.

## Decision

- The court granted Sherwood’s motion to dismiss the EEOC’s sex-discrimination claim.
- The court allowed the EEOC’s race-discrimination claim to proceed.
- The court held that the sex-discrimination claim exceeded the permissible scope of the action because it was neither included in, nor reasonably related to, the charge and was not the subject of conciliation.

## Legal Principles

- An EEOC Title VII enforcement action is limited to claims contained in the charge and claims that are like or reasonably related to the charge and that grow out of the EEOC’s investigation and administrative processing.
- Title VII’s conciliation requirement operates as a condition precedent to suit and must be satisfied for each category of discrimination the EEOC seeks to litigate.
- Claims not presented in the charge or not pursued in conciliation may be dismissed to protect the employer’s interest in notice and an opportunity to resolve the dispute administratively before litigation.

## Conclusion

The court dismissed the EEOC’s sex-discrimination claim because it was not raised in the race-only charge and was not addressed in conciliation, reinforcing that Title VII’s charge and conciliation steps define the permissible scope of an EEOC civil action.


Equal Emp. Opportunity Comm’n v. Sherwood Med. Indus., Inc., 452 F. Supp. 678 (M.D. Fla. 1978)