Complaint Should Be Dismissed For Failure To Exhaust EEOC Remedy When Plaintiff, After Her EEOC Complaint, Was Conditionally Reinstated And Ultimately Dismissed For Failing To Meet The Condition Of Reinstatement
TEAL v. POTTER (March 20, 2009)
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Joanne Teal had been employed by the U. S. Postal Service for almost 20 years when, during an altercation, she struck her supervisor's hand. Although the Postal Service attempted to discharge her, a grievance arbitrator determined that she should be suspended instead. Before she could be reinstated, however, Teal had to demonstrate her physical and mental fitness to resume her duties. For over eight months, the Postal Service went to great lengths to accommodate Teal's needs in scheduling the examinations. Finally, in July of 2003, the Postal Service advised Teal that they were terminating her employment. In the meantime, Teal filed an EEOC complaint in January of 2003, complaining that the original termination of her employment was discriminatory. Teal sued the Postal Service pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act. The district court concluded that she had failed to exhaust her administrative remedies and granted summary judgment to the Postal Service.
In their opinion, Judges Posner, Rovner and Evans vacated and remanded. The Court that the Rehabilitation Act, like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, requires a plaintiff to exhaust administrative remedies before bringing an action. Additionally, a plaintiff cannot complain of conduct that was not the subject of an EEOC charge. Here, Teal's EEOC charge complained of discrimination prior to her original discharge in March of 2002. The district court complaint, on the other hand, complains of her July 2003 dismissal. The 2003 dismissal was based on Teal's noncompliance with the conditions of her reinstatement, not the incident with her supervisor. The Court concluded that Teal had failed to exhaust her administrative remedies. The Court remanded the case for a dismissal without prejudice.
Michael Rigney practices in the law offices of GVC Ltd. in Chicago. In this blog, he reports on select