4th Circuit rules agreements can’t shorten time to file antidiscrimination claims

The federal statutes prohibiting employment discrimination, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), establish specific periods during which employees must act to timely pursue a claim. In a recent decision, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (which encompasses Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia) considered whether an employer and employee could lawfully enter into an agreement that shortens the time in which an employee must file such a claim. The court concluded that such agreements aren’t permissible and are contrary to the statutory framework governing discrimination claims.

Employee signed ‘limitations agreement’ 

The case involved a terminated employee suing her employer for discrimination. At the start of her employment, she had signed a “limitations agreement” in which she agreed she would file any claim relating to her employment within 180 calendar days after the occurrence of the event or decision to which her claim related. The agreement went on to provide that the 180-day period would be considered tolled during any period in which the employee filed a discrimination charge but that the period would run during any window of time before the employee filed a charge or after the charge had been closed.