Opinion ID: 3036906
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Equitable Exception

Text: [3] An individual plaintiff must first file a timely EEOC complaint against the allegedly discriminatory party before bringing an ADA suit in federal court. See EEOC v. Farmer Bros. Co., 31 F.3d 891, 899 (9th Cir. 1994). Because California is a “deferral” state, the claim must be filed within 300 days of the claimed event of discrimination. 42 U.S.C.A. § 2003e-5(e) (2003). The filing of a timely charge of discrimination with the EEOC is not a jurisdictional prerequisite to filing suit, but is a requirement subject to equitable doctrines such as waiver and tolling. See Zipes v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 455 U.S. 385, 398 (1982). [4] An equitable exception to the exhaustion requirement is available when an EEOC representative misleads the plaintiff concerning his claim. See Rodriguez v. Airborne Express, 265 F.3d 890, 901-02 (9th Cir. 2001). Such relief may be granted to a plaintiff who:
formed or misled by the administrative agency responsible for processing his charge; (3) relied in fact on the misinformation or misrepresentations of that agency, causing him to fail to exhaust his administrative remedies; and (4) was acting pro se at the time. Id. at 902. [5] While Josephs’ EEOC claim was not filed within 300 days of his termination, these factors all favor the application of an equitable exception to the EEOC claim. Josephs diligently pursed his claim by going to the EEOC office shortly after his termination. He was pro se at the time and was misled by the EEOC representative, Holmes, who told Josephs that he needed to retain counsel before filing a claim. Following the advice of Holmes, Josephs retained counsel, but by the JOSEPHS v. PACIFIC BELL 3905 time the EEOC responded to counsel’s inquiries, the time for filing the claim had expired. PacBell argues that Josephs’ affidavit, which describes his dealings with the EEOC, is a “self-serving” statement that cannot form the basis for an equitable exception. We rejected an identical argument in Rodriquez: “self-serving affidavits are cognizable . . . so long as they state facts based on personal knowledge and are not too conclusory.” Id. [6] Therefore, the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding an equitable exception to the exhaustion requirement for Josephs’ EEOC complaint.