Man waited too long before filing EEOC charge

Where a former employee filed his charge of discrimination more than 300 days after the allegedly discriminatory act, and failed to allege any extraordinary circumstances beyond his control that precluded him from timely filing his charge, his suit was dismissed.

Background

Ryan Cartwright alleges that his employer, T-Mobile US Inc., violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by failing to accommodate his sincere religious beliefs, forcing him to “choose between his faith and his job” when it required him either to get vaccinated for COVID-19 or qualify for a religious exemption. T-Mobile has filed a motion to dismiss.

Exhaustion

Title VII requires an employee to timely exhaust administrative remedies before filing suit in federal court. Specifically, an employee must file a charge with the EEOC or state administrative agency within 300 days of the discriminatory act.

The amended complaint alleges that T-Mobile informed Cartwright that his request for religious accommodation was denied on Feb. 10, 2022; he was placed on unpaid leave on Feb. 15, 2022; and his employment was terminated on April 2, 2022.

Cartwright did not file a charge with the EEOC until Feb. 3, 2023, which was beyond the 300-day time limit.

Equitable tolling

Although equitable tolling remains within the court’s discretion, Cartwright’s allegations do not meet either the high threshold for such a remedy or constitute the “rare instance[] where – due to circumstances external to the party’s own conduct – it would be unconscionable to enforce the limitation period … and gross injustice would result.”

Cartwright fails to allege any extraordinary circumstances beyond his control that precluded him from timely filing his charge with the EEOC. Cartwright argues that he contacted attorneys as early as February 2022 (before his April 2022 termination). Yet, after doing so, he took no action until Dec. 16, 2022 – 10 months later. After receiving unspecified information from an unidentified lawyer who allegedly agreed to take his case on Dec. 16, 2022, Cartwright did not file an EEOC charge until Feb. 3, 2023. In sum, Cartwright fails to allege any extraordinary circumstances that would warrant equitable tolling of the time in which to file a charge with the EEOC.

Defendant’s motion to dismiss granted.

Cartwright v. T-Mobile US Inc., Case No. 1:23-cv-625, Sept. 13, 2023. EDVA at Alexandria (Brinkema). VLW 023-3-563. 10 pp.