In a decision that will be hailed by workers’ rights advocates and provoke grumbling among business groups, the Supreme Court ruled that the timeframe in which those seeking damages against a former employer over “constructive discharge” can sue does not begins when the employee officially resigns.
Constructive discharge refers to a process by which an employer forces an employee to quit by making his or her job intolerable through harassment or discrimination.
Generally, employees who make such claims have 180 days after the last act of harassment to file suit with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or up to 300 days in states that have their own agencies for dealing with such claims.
But it’s not exactly clear when the clock starts on that timeframe.
The case before the court actually dealt with a postal worker who, like all federal employees, is subject to a strict timeframe for filing suit: 45 days. Saying that he had been told to either retire or be relocated at much lower pay, he filed suit shortly after he resigned, alleging racial discrimination.
The court rejected the Postal Service’s contention that the clock should have started two months earlier, when he was presented with the resignation proposal. Instead, in a 7-1 decision, Green v. Brennan, the court reasoned that the resignation itself amounted to the last alleged instance of harassment.
Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas was the lone dissenter in the case. Thomas rejected the notion that the resignation itself was an act of discrimination, and that only the employer’s actions could be construed as such.
Although the case did not deal specifically with the 180 day timeframe in place for private sector employees, legal observers say the ruling will guide other courts’ decisions on such cases for all types of employers.
Brian Netter, an attorney with Mayer Brown in Washington, D.C., told the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) that the decision highlights the importance of keeping a paper trail documenting exactly when employees resign.
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
