Opinion ID: 697653
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Fair Employment Practices Act, Mass.Gen.L.Ann. ch. 151B

Text: 7 In 1946 the Massachusetts Legislature enacted the Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA), Mass.Gen.L.Ann. ch. 151B, Sec. 1 et seq., which contained a comprehensive list of unlawful discriminatory acts by covered Massachusetts employers against their employees. 2 See id. Sec. 4; Katz v. MCAD, 365 Mass. 357, 312 N.E.2d 182, 187 (1974) (noting that FEPA was enacted to implement the right to equal treatment guaranteed to all citizens by the constitutions of the United States and the Commonwealth). 3 Gender-based discrimination was included in the section four listing as an unlawful employment practice. See Mass.Gen.L.Ann. ch. 151B, Sec. 4(1); see also College-Town v. MCAD, 400 Mass. 156, 508 N.E.2d 587 (1987) (interpreting FEPA Sec. 4(1) as encompassing sexual harassment by employers and supervisory employees). 8 FEPA claimants must file their MCAD claims within six months after the alleged discriminatory act, or forfeit any entitlement to judicial review. See Mass.Gen.L.Ann. ch. 151B, Secs. 5, 9 (As to acts declared unlawful in section four, the procedure provided in [chapter 151B, Sec. 5] shall, while pending, be exclusive; and the final determination therein shall exclude any other action, civil or criminal, based on the same grievance of the individual concerned.) (emphasis added); see also Ackerson v. Dennison Mfg. Co., 624 F.Supp. 1148, 1150 (D.Mass.1986) (holding that compliance with six-month limitation period becomes unwaivable jurisdictional prerequisite to civil suit). 9 As to section four administrative claims which are adjudicated by the MCAD within ninety days from filing, either the claimant or the respondent may obtain limited review on petition to the superior court, Mass.Gen.L.Ann. ch. 151B, Sec. 6, followed by an appeal of right to the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC). 4 Unless the MCAD fails to act within ninety days or grants an express dispensation, the claimant may not bypass the administrative claims process by filing a civil action for damages or injunctive relief directly with either the superior court or the probate court. Id. Sec. 9. 10 In 1986, the Massachusetts Legislature--presaging the SJC's College-Town decision, supra --amended FEPA by explicitly including sexual harassment within the comprehensive list of employer acts proscribed under section 4. See 1986 Mass. Acts 588 (codified at Mass.Gen.L.Ann. ch. 151B, Sec. 1(18) (definition of sexual harassment), Sec. 4(16A)). At the same time, the Legislature amended Chapter 214, a separate statutory provision vesting the superior court with original equity jurisdiction as follows: A person shall have the right to be free from sexual harassment, as defined in [FEPA Sec. 1(18) ]. The superior court shall have jurisdiction in equity to enforce this right and to award damages. 1986 Mass. Acts 588 (codified at Mass.Gen.L.Ann. ch. 214, Sec. 1C) (emphasis added) [hereinafter: Section 1C].