Opinion ID: 555552
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Appellate Court Proceedings

Text: 6 On appeal, this panel requested the parties to brief the issue of whether the full court should consider this case en banc in order to overrule our prior decisions holding that equitable tolling, while applicable to private suits, could not be invoked in actions brought by public employees in the absence of further express congressional authorization. 2 On almost the same day the briefs were received, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to the Fifth Circuit in Irwin v. Veteran's Administration, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 1109, 107 L.Ed.2d 1017 (1990). Irwin raised the same general tolling issue presented by Williams-Scaife. Accordingly, we vacated submission of this case pending the Supreme Court's disposition of Irwin.