www.NFIB.com
For
Immediate Release
Contact: Kelly Klass 609-713-4243
or [email protected]
Follow Kelly
on Twitter @KellyAKlass
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The National
Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) asks court to determine when an
employee can file a constructive discharge complaint
Washington, D.C. (October 7, 2015) – A longer statutory deadline for when
an employee can file a constructive discharge complaint would force small
businesses to defend themselves against stale and drawn out claims, said the National Federation of Independent Business
(NFIB) in a brief filed with the United States Supreme Court late Monday.
“Statutes of
limitation are essential to avoiding old claims,” said NFIB Small Business Legal Center Executive Director Karen Harned. “With passage of time memories fade,
witnesses scatter and employment records become unavailable. These limitation periods protect employees
that are asserting their rights while also protecting employers from defending
claims arising from employment decisions that are long past.”
The United
States Supreme Court will decide in the case of Marvin Green v Megan Brennan, Postmaster General, whether federal
employment discrimination law allows workers to file constructive discharge claims
well after they have resigned, or whether the clock should start running when
the alleged abuses are happening.
An employee can
claim constructive discharge when he or she feels that their working conditions
are so intolerable that a reasonable person would be compelled to resign. In other words, the boss is purposely making
your life miserable in the hope that you will quit so he does not have to fire
you.
Five federal
courts of appeal have held that the filing period begins when the employee
resigns and three others have ruled that it begins when the last discriminatory
act is committed. In this case, a
postmaster claimed that he was forced out of his position, having no choice but
to resign. He sued long after he left. The Tenth Circuit Court said that the
postmaster could not proceed with claims of constructive discharge under Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because he had surpassed his statute of
limitations. NFIB believes that is the
fairest application of the law.
“Congress deliberately
established brief statutes of limitation under Title VII to encourage prompt
processing of all charges of discrimination,” Harned continued. “We are urging the Supreme Court to affirm the
Tenth Circuit’s decision to avoid an increase in discrimination claims based on
old charges.”
For more
information about NFIB please visit www.nfib.com.
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