Constructive Discharge in the Federal Sector: When Does the Clock Start Ticking?

For private-sector employees filing discrimination charges, claims must be made to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within 180 days of the incident, although the time can be extended to as many as 300 days if the claim is pursued initially with a state or local agency. Federal employees, however, must begin the process within 45 days by contacting an EEOC counselor in the employee’s agency. The issue in Green v. Brennan, argued last Monday before the United States Supreme Court, revolves around whether that 45-day period begins in a constructive discharge case at the time of the employee’s resignation (as five circuits have held), or at the time of the employer’s last allegedly discriminatory acts giving rise to the resignation (as three circuits have held).