EEOC Files Subpoena Enforcement Action Against Mauser Packaging Solutions

CHICAGO – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that it has filed an action in federal court to enforce a subpoena that it issued during its investigation into claims that Mauser Packaging Solutions engaged in illegal hiring practices, including limiting, segregating, or classifying applicants by race, national origin, or sex for various Mauser facilities, primarily in the Chicagoland area.

Mauser is an international manufacturer of rigid packaging, headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. It has 180 locations worldwide, including several in Illinois and in 25 other states and territories within the United States.

A charge of discrimination was filed against Mauser in February 2024 by EEOC Commissioner (now Acting EEOC Chair) Andrea Lucas. The EEOC’s charge alleged that Mauser denied employment opportunities to applicants on multiple different bases, depending on the Mauser facility in question, including white applicants, black applicants, Hispanic applicants, and female applicants. The EEOC has reason to believe that Mauser may be making inappropriate requests to staffing, placement or recruiting companies to provide it with workers or candidates for various Mauser facilities who had demographic characteristics that matched the demographics of the population of employees who already worked at those facilities, effectively segregating various facilities by race, national origin, or sex (for example, preferring Hispanic workers for a facility with a predominantly Hispanic workforce, preferring black workers for a different facility with a predominantly black workforce, etc.). Such requests may be illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In order to investigate these allegations, the EEOC issued a subpoena to Mauser, requesting, among other things, that it identify applicants at certain of its facilities in Illinois and Pennsylvania. The subpoena also asked Mauser whether the candidates had been referred to the company and, if so, by whom; to provide the position for which they were considered; whether or not they were hired; and their demographic and contact information.

“The EEOC is seeking to determine whether Mauser engaged in any unlawful hiring practices, including asking staffing firms to send them workers or candidates based on demographic characteristics such as sex, race or national origin in order to steer candidates between facilities to lead to more homogenous workplaces, including ones which reflected the immediately surrounding neighborhood population’s demographics,” said EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas. “Making staffing requests based on demographic characteristics is almost always illegal, and there is no exception to this bar for racially motivated decisions driven by business concerns, such as concerns about the effects on employee relations. The EEOC also is concerned that employers can use this as a way to exclude American workers in favor of foreign-born workers who may be perceived as being easier to exploit or take advantage of. The EEOC is committed to ensuring American workers are given a fair shot at employment, as well as to combatting neo-segregationism, including effective segregation resulting from purportedly “benign” motives.”

The EEOC filed the action (EEOC v. Mauser Packaging Solutions, Case No. 25-cv-05248) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, after first attempting to obtain voluntary compliance with its investigative requests.

The EEOC’s Chicago District Office has jurisdiction over Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.