National Railroad Passenger Corporation v. Morgan

The United States Supreme Court also issued an opinion regarding the time period within which an employee must file a discrimination charge with the EEOC (National Railroad Passenger Corporation v. Morgan). Title VII requires an employee to file a claim with the EEOC within either 180 days or 300 days after the alleged unlawful harassment. In Morgan, the Court held that a hostile work environment discrimination claim will not be untimely if some (but not all) of the acts which form the basis of the claim did not fall within the appropriate 180 day or 300 day period, provided that at least one of the acts did fall within that period, and provided that together the acts are part of the same unlawful practice.

On the other hand, with respect to claims for discrete discrimination or retaliatory acts (as opposed to hostile work environment), the Court held that an employee must generally bring the claim within 180 days or 300 days from the date of the act of discrimination, and each new act of discrimination starts a new clock for filing a claim.

The Court noted that a claim based on discrete discrimination or a retaliatory act is generally based on one or more isolated incidents, each of which alone constitutes discrimination. This differs from a claim for hostile work environment which is generally based on a series of incidents, each of which alone is not unlawful harassment but which together form the basis for the claim. Because the series of related acts are part of the same unlawful practice, it is enough that one of those acts occurred within the appropriate 180 day or 300 day period.

Employers should continue to be aware that past actions, even those which occurred over 300 days ago, could be the basis for a discrimination claim if the actions are part of a series of related acts which together create a hostile environment for the employee. As always, any incidents of harassment, regardless of when they occurred, should be carefully investigated and handled by the employer in accordance with its harassment policy, and counsel should be consulted when necessary.