Court Orders Frozen Food Giant Schwan’s to Comply with EEOC Subpoena in Sex Bias Case

In a ruling issued late on March 8, 2010, Magistrate Judge Janie S. Mayeron of U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota ordered the Minnesota-based frozen food delivery company Schwan’s Home Service to comply with a federal government subpoena by March 29, 2010. The subpoena, issued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) pursuant to an investigation of a charge of sex discrimination filed by former Schwan’s employee Kim Milliren, seeks personnel information about persons employed as general managers at Schwan’s facilities nationwide from January 1, 2006 to the present.

The EEOC filed its subpoena enforcement proceeding on October 5, 2009 (EEOC v. Schwan’s Home Service, Misc. Case No. 09-84 (JRT/JSM)) after first giving Schwan’s several opportunities to provide the requested information voluntarily, which would have allowed the investigation to remain confidential. In opposing the EEOC’s enforcement of the subpoena, Schwan’s accused the EEOC of pursuing a “fishing expedition” and suggested that the EEOC may be engaging in misconduct.

On July 3, 2007, the EEOC’s Minneapolis Area Office received a charge filed under Title VII by Milliren, alleging that she was discriminated against on the basis of gender and subjected to sexual harassment and retaliation during her employment with Schwan’s Home Service. Milliren was selected to participate in Schwan’s General Manager Development Program, a training program that trains candidates to be location general managers at its warehouse depots throughout the country. Since that time, the EEOC has been investigating whether Milliren and other women were subjected to sex discrimination in the General Manager Development Program.

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