Opinion ID: 511830
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Right-to-Sue Letter

Text: 26 Despite the absence of prejudice, the Bank argues that Jones' failure to obtain a right-to-sue letter requires dismissal because it is a jurisdictional prerequisite to the filing of a complaint in federal court. They rely on our decision in Sedlacek v. Hach, 752 F.2d 333 (8th Cir.1985). We hold that the failure to obtain a right-to-sue letter prior to the commencement of a suit is a curable defect. 27 In Sedlacek, the district court dismissed the plaintiff's complaint, believing that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the EEOC had not yet investigated or attempted to conciliate Sedlacek's claim. In reversing, we cited in passing the statements from McDonnell-Douglas that: 28 the only jurisdictional prerequisites to a federal action under Title VII are (1) timely filing charges of employment discrimination with the Commission and (2) receiving and acting upon the Commission's statutory notice of the right to sue. McDonnell-Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 798, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1822, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). 29 Sedlacek, 752 F.2d at 335. 30 Failure to obtain a right-to-sue letter prior to the commencement of a claim in federal court was not at issue in Sedlacek. 31 The Fourth Circuit, in scrutinizing the same language from McDonnell-Douglas, concluded: [T]he Court referred to the timely filing of administrative charges and receipt of a 'right-to-sue' letter as jurisdictional prerequisites only by way of rejecting arguments which would have imposed additional jurisdictional preconditions. Perdue v. Roy Stone Transfer Corp., 690 F.2d 1091, 1093 (4th Cir.1982) (footnote omitted); see also, Pinkard v. Pullman-Standard, a Div. of Pullman, Inc., 678 F.2d 1211, 1215 (5th Cir.1982) (right-to-sue letter is a condition precedent, rather than a jurisdictional prerequisite, and can be cured after filing a suit). 32 The Supreme Court later returned to reconsider the McDonnell-Douglas statements in Zipes v. Transworld Airlines, Inc., 455 U.S. 385, 102 S.Ct. 1127, 71 L.Ed.2d 234 (1982). In Zipes, the plaintiff failed to file an EEOC charge in a timely manner. The Court held that the filing of a timely charge of discrimination was not a jurisdictional prerequisite to a federal court suit, but instead operated akin to a statute of limitations. Id. at 393, 102 S.Ct. at 1132. Therefore, the failure to file in a timely manner was held subject to waiver, estoppel and equitable tolling. The Court reasoned that in doing so, we honor the remedial purpose of the legislation as a whole without negating the particular purpose of the filing requirement, to give prompt notice to the employer. Id. at 398, 102 S.Ct. at 1135. 33 Because a timely filing with the EEOC necessarily precedes the return of a right-to-sue notice from the EEOC, such notices must also be curable. See Williams v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, et al., 721 F.2d 1412, 1418 n. 12 (D.C.Cir.1983). We hold that receipt of a right-to-sue notice is a condition precedent to a filing of a Title VII claim, curable after the action has commenced. Accord Gooding v. Warner-Lambert Co., 744 F.2d 354, 358 (3d Cir.1984); Wrighten v. Metropolitan Hospitals, Inc., 726 F.2d 1346, 1351 (9th Cir.1984); Fouche v. Jekyll Island-State Park Auth., 713 F.2d 1518, 1525 (11th Cir.1984); Perdue, supra; Pinkard, supra.