Supreme Court ruled for postal worker in dispute over time limit for constructive discharge claim
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday favored employees in a ruling on the time limit for contacting the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about a constructive discharge claim under Title VII.
The time limit in such cases begins to run on the date an employee notifies his employer that he intends to quit his job, the Supreme Court ruled in a 7-1 decision (PDF).
The court ruled on behalf of former U.S. Postal Service worker Marvin Green, who contacted the EEOC 41 days after submitting his resignation. The time limit for contacting the EEOC for federal employees is 45 days. The Postal Service had claimed the 45-day period began to run on the date of its last, allegedly discriminatory act rather than the resignation date. On that basis, Green waited 96 days to contact the EEOC, the Postal Service said.
The majority opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor said an employee can’t bring a constructive discharge claim until resigning. “So at that point—and not before—the limitations period begins to run,” she wrote. An employee resigns, she said, at the point he gives his employer notice that he intends to leave.
The court remanded the case for a determination of whether Green resigned on the date he signed a settlement agreement or the date he submitted his retirement paperwork.
Justice Clarence Thomas dissented.
The case is Green v. Brennan.
