What Does the Box Say? 6th Circuit Looks to the Boundaries of the EEOC Charge in Barnett-Morgan v. Inverness

Short summary

The 6th Circuit's decision in Barnett-Morgan v. Inverness Technologies affirms that plaintiffs cannot litigate claims outside the scope of their EEOC charge, even with liberal construction. The court rejected attempts to expand retaliation claims via informal pre- and post-charge communications. Employers should evaluate exhaustion early, preserve all EEOC correspondence, and use exhaustion as a narrowing tool to reduce exposure.

• •EEOC charge scope limits what claims can be litigated in subsequent lawsuit
• •Informal communications with EEOC do not constitute part of the charge
• •Employers should compare complaint claims against EEOC charge early to identify mismatches

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