Opinion ID: 777989
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Timeliness of EEOC filing

Text: 28 Under the ACRA, a claim must be filed either (1) within one year after the alleged employment discrimination or (2) within ninety days after receipt of a right-to-sue letter issued by the EEOC. See Ark.Code Ann. § 16-123-107(c)(3). 29 Although the parties disagree about the last date of alleged discrimination, the latest date considered was February, 1998, which falls outside the limitations period. It is undisputed that Duty filed his claim on June 15, 1999, which is more than one year after the latest possible date of discrimination. Therefore, Duty failed to satisfy the first option for filing a timely claim under the ACRA. 30 We next consider whether Duty satisfied the second option for filing a timely ACRA claim. NAP concedes that Duty filed suit within ninety days of receiving a right-to-sue letter from the EEOC. However, NAP contests the timeliness of the underlying EEOC filing, contending that because Duty's charge of discrimination was not timely filed with the EEOC, the EEOC's right-to-sue letter is invalid as the basis of the limitations period. 31 In order for an EEOC right-to-sue letter to begin running the statute of limitations, the underlying EEOC charge of discrimination likewise must have been timely filed. See Douglas v. California Dep't of Youth Authority, 271 F.3d 812, 823 n. 12 (9th Cir.2001) (noting that limitations period of underlying EEOC charge governs statute of limitations for ADA charges in federal court) (citing Zipes v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 455 U.S. 385, 393, 102 S.Ct. 1127, 71 L.Ed.2d 234 (1982)); see also Dring v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 58 F.3d 1323, 1327 (8th Cir.1995) ( Dring ) (holding that failure to file a timely underlying EEOC charge bars pursuit of ADEA action in federal court); Anderson v. Unisys Corp., 47 F.3d 302, 306 (8th Cir.1995) (stating that the EEOC administrative deadline operates in the nature of a statute of limitations for ADEA claims). According to EEOC regulations, a claimant must file a charge of discrimination with the EEOC within 180 days of the date of discrimination. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1). The date of discrimination is considered to be the date on which the last discriminatory act forming the basis of the complaint occurred. See id. 32 NAP characterizes the last day of the alleged discrimination as September 18, 1997, the date that Duty received White's September 15, 1997 letter. NAP asserts that the latest possible date a jury reasonably could assess as Duty's notice of termination was December 11, 1997, the date of Duty's telephone call to White, in which she told him that his employment was terminated as far as she was concerned. See Jones v. Baskin, Flaherty, Elliot & Mannino, P.C., 738 F.Supp. 937 (W.D.Pa. 1989) (holding that limitations period began when an unofficial committee informed the plaintiff of his termination), aff'd, 897 F.2d 522 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 811, 111 S.Ct. 47, 112 L.Ed.2d 23 (1990). NAP argues, therefore, that Duty's EEOC claim was time-barred because it was not filed within 180 days of December 11, 1997. 33 However, the jury determined that NAP terminated Duty on January 8, 1998. We find nothing unreasonable in the jury's conclusion. The jury was instructed properly by the district court that [a] person is considered to have been terminated by his employer `on the date on which he receives notice which would inform a reasonable person in his position that he had been terminated.' Dring, 58 F.3d at 1327 (holding that the limitations period on a federal discrimination claim governed by an underlying EEOC charge begins on the date on which the adverse employment action is communicated to the plaintiff). As a result, the jury assessed Duty's official date of termination, which serves as the beginning of the limitations period for the underlying EEOC charge, as January 8, 1998, the date he received an official letter from someone with actual termination authority at NAP. See Delaware State College v. Ricks, 449 U.S. 250, 261, 101 S.Ct. 498, 66 L.Ed.2d 431 (1980) (holding that the accrual date begins when the notice communicates an official decision of the employer); see also Smith v. UPS, Inc., 65 F.3d 266 (2d Cir.1995) (holding that, under the ADA, for the notice to be effective, it must be made apparent to the employee that the notice states the `official decision' of the employer); Burfield v. Brown, Moore & Flint, Inc., 51 F.3d 583, 589 (5th Cir.1995) (holding that limitations period begins when claimant receives unequivocal notice of the facts underlying the claim or when a reasonable person would know of those facts). 34 Moreover, it was rational for the jury to find that (1) Duty believed that White's phone call was not an official termination because she did not have the authority to terminate him, especially without consulting the panel of supervisors who were responsible for hiring and firing, and (2) the letter he received on January 8, 1998, was the only official communication of NAP's decision to fire him. See Cooper v. St. Cloud State University, 226 F.3d 964 (8th Cir.2000) (determining that the limitations period began when the plaintiff exhibited actual awareness of the employer's termination decision). As a result, we conclude that the district court did not err in determining that sufficient evidence existed for a jury reasonably to determine that Duty's EEOC charge of discrimination was timely filed and therefore his ACRA claim was not time-barred.