context: Now that the question has been squarely presented, we join the fifth circuit in concluding that the resolution of personal employment litigation does not preclude a qui tam action, in which the relator acts as a representative of the public. The special status of the United States counsels against reflexive transfer of rules of preclusion from private to public litigation.
citation_a.signal: cf.
citation_a.parenthetical: employee's failure to make a timely charge of discrimination does not prevent EEOC from suing to vindicate interest in law enforcement
citation_a.sentence: Cf. EEOC v. Waffle House, Inc., 534 U.S. 279, 122 S.Ct. 754, 151 L.Ed.2d 755 (2002) (an employee’s private disposition, via arbitration, of a claim against an employer does not diminish the federal government’s ability to pursue judicial relief independently); EEOC v. Sidley Austin LLP, 437 F.3d 695 (7th Cir.2006) (employee’s failure to make a timely charge of discrimination does not prevent EEOC from suing to vindicate interest in law enforcement).
citation_b.signal: see
citation_b.parenthetical: non-mutual issue preclusion does not apply to suits involving the United States
citation_b.sentence: See United States v. Mendoza, 464 U.S. 154, 104 S.Ct. 568, 78 L.Ed.2d 379 (1984) (non-mutual issue preclusion does not apply to suits involving the United States).