Court Opinion

ID: 9428676
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-02 23:24:25.300251+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:23:14.642110
License: Public Domain

Justice Powell,
with whom The Chief Justice and Justice Rehnquist join,
concurring in No. 78-1545 and concurring in the judgment in No. 80-951.
The above cases arise out of the same protracted controversy, and the Court disposes of them in a single opinion. The only question in No. 78-1545 is whether the timely filing of an EEOC charge is a jurisdictional prerequisite to bringing a Title VII suit. I agree that timely filing is not jurisdictional and is subject to waiver and estoppel. Accordingly, I join Parts I and II of the Court’s opinion.
I join only the judgment in No. 80-951. My concern with the Court’s opinion is that it does not make clear that a timely charge, as well as a violation of Title VII, is a prerequisite to disturbing rights under a bona fide seniority system protected by § 703(h), 42 U. S. C. §2000e-2(h).1 This was made *402clear in United Air Lines, Inc. v. Evans, 431 U. S. 553, 559 (1977), a case not discussed in the Court’s opinion.2 I nevertheless concur in the remand of No. 80-951, in which a settlement agreement was approved awarding retroactive competitive-status seniority under the standard of Franks v. Bowman Transportation Co., 424 U. S. 747 (1976). This case has been in litigation since 1970, and in view of its complexity it is difficult to be certain as to “what happened and when.” I believe, however, that one can conclude that the requirements of Evans were met.
As noted in the Court’s opinion, ante, at 398-399, the District Court’s order finding classwide discrimination is now final. The District Court also entered an order finding that timely charges had been filed for all class members, and that order is similarly final. The timely-charge order was entered on October 15,1976, three days before the entry of the order finding classwide discrimination. These orders were consolidated on appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Although the October 18th order, finding discrimination, was affirmed, the Court of Appeals vacated the other order, holding that the members of Subclass B had failed to meet the jurisdictional requirements of Title VII because they had not filed timely claims. No District Court order was ever actually vacated because, on the motion of the parties, the Court of Appeals stayed its mandate, and the parties then reached a settlement. Today, the Court reverses that portion of the Court of Appeals’ judgment that would have vacated the October 15th order. As a result, both the October 15th and October 18th orders, finding timely charges and classwide discrimination, are now final. *403I therefore concur in the judgment of the Court affirming the award of retroactive competitive-status seniority under the standard of Franks v. Bowman Transportation Co.3

 In Franks v. Bowman Transportation Co., 424 U. S. 747 (1976), timely charges of discrimination had been filed. Relief was awarded on the theory that current employees were merely being placed in the position they would have enjoyed, relative to the victims, had no discrimination ever taken place. In contrast, when the victims of discrimination have slept on their rights, it will often be unfair to award them full retroactive seniority at the expense of employees who may have accrued their present seniority in good faith. When timely charges have not been filed, a district court should consider these equities in determining whether to award competitive-status seniority, and the presence of a settlement between the *402employer and the plaintiffs should not affect the balancing of these equities. Under any other rule, employers will be able to settle Title VII actions, in part, by bargaining away the rights of current employees.

 The Court refers to United Air Lines v. Evans twice, see ante, at 393, n. 6, and at 396, n. 12; both references are to terms used by the Evans Court in describing the timely-filing requirement.

 I am not entirely content with this formalistic resolution of the “timely filing” issue. But, after almost 12 years of litigation, neither the parties nor the courts have addressed specifically whether the failure to file timely charges should affect the balance of the equities in awarding competitive-status seniority. Rather than prolong this disruptive litigation, it may well be in the best interest of all of the parties to approve the settlement— as the Court’s judgment does today.