Opinion ID: 166561
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: McBride

Text: 21 Shikles' attempt to distinguish McBride on its facts is unavailing. McBride did not merely fail timely to submit a signed and dated copy of her discrimination charge, as Shikles contends. Rather, as in the case at bar, in McBride the plaintiff did not return messages from the EEOC left with her counsel, did not provide requested materials, and failed to discuss her charge with the EEOC. 281 F.3d at 1106. 22 The EEOC's efforts to distinguish McBride from the case at bar are similarly unavailing. The EEOC notes that McBride relies on 29 C.F.R. § 1601.18(b), which applies only to charges under Title VII and the ADA, see 29 C.F.R. § 1601.1, to find that a claimant must cooperate with the EEOC in order to exhaust his or her administrative remedies. The EEOC suggests that the lack of a comparable regulation under the ADEA indicates that cooperation from a charging party is not required in ADEA cases. 23 However, the EEOC conceded in its brief and at oral argument that it has the inherent power in both Title VII/ADA and ADEA cases to dismiss the charge of a noncooperating claimant. Because the EEOC has no more power to dismiss a charge on the basis of a charging party's non-cooperation in a Title VII/ADA case than in an ADEA case, the EEOC's argument that its explicitly delineated power to dismiss a Title VII/ADA case establishes that cooperation is somehow more valued or necessary in Title VII/ADA cases is without merit. 24 Indeed, the EEOC's decision to codify its inherent power to dismiss a charge in a regulation affecting Title VII and the ADA, but not the ADEA, is not driven by substantial differences between the impacted statutes, but rather by minor procedural distinctions. Under Title VII, a plaintiff must obtain a right to sue letter from the EEOC as a prerequisite to suit. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(1); McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 797-98, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). The provision cited by McBride, 29 C.F.R. § 1601.18, helps delineate how such a letter is to be issued if a charging party does not cooperate with the EEOC and therefore has his or her case dismissed. See 29 C.F.R. § 1601.28(b)(3) (explaining the steps that should be taken if a charge has been dismissed under § 1601.18). However, a right to sue letter is not a prerequisite to suit under the ADEA. See 29 U.S.C. § 626. Thus, there is less need to set out a formal regulation delineating the precise procedures to follow in issuing a right to sue letter if the EEOC dismisses a claimant's charge, since delay or neglect in issuing such a letter will not adversely impact the claimant's ability to enforce his or her claim in court. Thus, the absence of a regulation under the ADEA delineating the EEOC's power to dismiss a claimant's charge based on the claimant's non-cooperation does not establish that cooperation is not required under the statute. 25 The EEOC also argues that McBride is distinguishable because the ADEA's charge-filing requirements differ from those under Title VII and the ADA. The EEOC emphasizes the fact that its receipt of an ADEA charge does not trigger a duty to investigate the complaint, as does its receipt of a Title VII charge. Instead, the agency merely must notify the prospective defendants and seek to eliminate any alleged unlawful practice by informal methods of conciliation, conference and persuasion. Compare 29 U.S.C. § 626(d) (ADEA), with 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(b) (Title VII). However, while the EEOC is not formally tasked with investigating ADEA claims, the EEOC must necessarily investigate in order to engage in conciliation, conference, and persuasion. See Occidental Life Ins. Co. v. EEOC, 432 U.S. 355, 368, 97 S.Ct. 2447, 53 L.Ed.2d 402 (1977) ([T]he EEOC . . . is a federal administrative agency charged with . . . investigating claims of employment discrimination and settling disputes, if possible, in an informal, noncoercive fashion.). 26 Thus, McBride is not distinguishable from the case at bar.