On April 29 the Supreme Court ruled in  Mach Mining, LLC v. EEOC, that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) cannot police its own compliance with statutory requirements that it "conciliate" its investigative findings before it can sue employers in court.   Mach Mining involved an employer's appeal of a very unfavorable ruling by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, which held essentially that the EEOC answers to no one in regards to whether it has satisfied its statutory obligation to explore informal resolution of claims with employers.  The Supreme Court's decision to review this matter created great anticipation among employment attorneys and employers alike, hoping for a more favorable outcome.  Employers unfortunate enough to have found themselves pursued by the EEOC routinely find that little effort is made to avoid litigation, especially in what the agency designates as "priority cases."  Ultimately, the Supreme Court reversed the appellate court and held that whether the EEOC has satisfied its mandate to conciliate before it litigates, is a matter for the courts and not the EEOC to decide.  While this was welcome news to employers and their legal counsel, it is tempered by the Court's conclusion that the EEOC's conciliation efforts are subject only to very limited review by the courts.