Green v. Brennan (578 U.S. 547)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 23, 2016 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 578 U.S. 547 · 136 S. Ct. 1769
- Decided
- May 23, 2016
- Term
- October Term 2015
- Vote
- 7–1
- Majority author
- Justice Sotomayor
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice SOTOMAYORdelivered the opinion of the Court. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 253, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, or retaliating against their employees for opposing or seeking relief from such discrimination. Before a federal civil servant can sue his employer for violating Title VII, he must, among other things, "initiate contact" with an Equal Employment Opportunity counselor at his agency "within 45 days of the date of the matter alleged to be discriminatory." 29 CFR § 1614.105(a)(1) (2015). If an employee claims he has been fired for discriminatory reasons, the "matter alleged to be discriminatory" includes the discharge itself and the 45-day limitations period begins running only after the employee is fired. We address here when the limitations period begins to run for an employee who was not fired, but resigns in the face of intolerable discrimination-a "constructive" discharge. We hold that, in such circumstances, the "matter alleged to be discriminatory" includes the employee's resignation, and that the 45-day clock for a constructive discharge begins running only after the employee resigns. I We recite the following facts in the light most favorable to petitioner Marvin Green, against whom the District Court entered summary…
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