Apparently we posted too soon.  Just yesterday we discussed the case of a group of Hawaiian farms and a labor contractor sued by the EEOC for allegedly harassing and mistreating Thai farmworkers.

We wrote that “[t]his week the EEOC announced that it had settled the case with four of the Hawaiian farms for an aggregate of $2.4 million. The EEOC General Counsel said that “This resolution reflects the commission’s redoubled effort to challenge discriminatory practices against the most vulnerable workers, who often live and work in the shadows of the economy (emphasis added).’”

We have just learned, however, that the Court has issued an order denying the request by the EEOC for approval of the EEOC’s proposed consent decrees and proposed orders in this case, apparently for not complying with procedural rules.

Moreover, the Court, sua sponte, ordered the EEOC to show cause why sanctions should not be imposed against it’s counsel for failure to follow local rules and the Court’s oral instructions.

Why did the EEOC prematurely announce the settlement?    We tried to access the link to the EEOC’s earlier press release about the purported settlement but it was apparently taken down.

Read the order here.