The EEOC’s Strategic Direction and Enforcement Tactics: What Employers Need to Know in 2025

Jennifer A. Riley | Duane Morris LLP

Jennifer A. Riley is a partner in the Duane Morris Chicago office and a member of the Illinois and New York bars. As vice-chair of the Duane Morris Class Action Defense Group, she defends complex collective actions, class actions, and other types of representative proceedings. Ms. Riley has defended companies faced with significant complex litigation matters for more than two decades.

She regularly defends companies facing class actions, collective actions, pattern or practice lawsuits, and other types of representative proceedings, ranging in size from dozens to tens of thousands of claims. Ms. Riley has represented clients facing best-the-company cases in a wide range of complex civil litigation matters in federal and state courts across the country. She also provides counsel to employers seeking to navigate thorny issues, including investigations, compliance, and terminations. Ms. Riley is a regular speaker, author, and presenter regarding class action issues, legal developments, and challenges that companies may face in the future.

Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. | Duane Morris LLP

Gerald “Jerry” Maatman, Jr. is a Chambers-recognized workplace class action defense litigator, an eight- time Law 360 Employment Law MVP, nine-time recipient of BTI Consulting Group’s distinguished Client Service All-Star Award, and a 2021 Legal 500 Hall of Fame inductee. Mr. Maatman is a Partner at Duane Morris LLP, where he chairs the firm’s Class Action Defense Group.

Among his various cases, Mr. Maatman successfully defended the largest EEOC pattern or practice lawsuit ever prosecuted in the history of the Commission, the largest age discrimination collective action ever brought in Illinois, the 2 first sexual harassment class action brought by a State Attorney General in the United States, and the largest wage & hour class actions ever litigated in Florida, Illinois, and New York. A graduate of Washington & Lee University and the Northwestern University School of Law, where he has served as an adjunct professor for 34 years, Jerry is based out of Duane Morris’ Chicago and New York offices.

The author of eight books on the law, Jerry is often consulted by major news organizations for his views on significant court rulings and legal issues. He has served as a legal commentator on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), National Public Radio (NPR), MSNBC, CNBC, and USA Talk Radio, and his comments have appeared in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Business Insurance, USA Today, Fortune, and Forbes. In 2023, Business Today included Mr. Maatman in its rankings of the Top 8 Most Influential Labor & Employment Lawyers in the United States. Further, Chambers selected him as one of the leading class action defense lawyers in its 2006 to 2024 rankings of U.S. lawyers. In its Global rankings, Chambers stated that “Maatman is absolutely phenomenal,” and is “one of the topclass action minds in the country.”

I. Understanding the EEOC strategic plan | 1:00pm – 1:30pm

II. Review of EEOC litigation in FY 2024–2025 | 1:30pm – 2:00pm

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

III. Impact of key directives from the White House on EEOC strategy and litigation | 2:10pm – 2:25pm

IV. Building your government enforcement toolkit | 2:25pm – 2:40pm