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  3. A. Delegation of Litigation Authority to the General Counsel under the National Enforcement Plan

A. Delegation of Litigation Authority to the General Counsel under the National Enforcement Plan

In section V. of the National Enforcement Plan (NEP), the Commission delegated litigation authority to the General Counsel "[w]ith the goals of increasing strategic enforcement for the General Counsel and field attorneys, freeing the Commission to focus on policy issues, and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of [the Commission's] litigation program." Section V. provides in relevant part:

[T]he Commission delegates to the General Counsel the decision to commence or intervene in litigation in all cases except the following:

  1. a) Cases involving a major expenditure of resources, e.g. cases involving extensive discovery or numerous expert witnesses and many pattern-or-practice or Commissioner's charge cases;
  2. b) Cases which present issues in a developing area of law where the Commission has not adopted a position through regulation, policy guidance, Commission decision, or compliance manuals;
  3. c) Cases which, because of their likelihood for public controversy or otherwise, the General Counsel reasonably believes to be appropriate for submission for Commission consideration; and
  4. d) All recommendations in favor of Commission participation as amicus curiae which shall continue to be submitted to the Commission for review and approval.

[T]he Commission ratifies its decision to give the General Counsel the authority to redelegate to regional attorneys the authority to commence litigation. The Commission encourages such redelegation of litigation authority as appropriate.