June 6, 2019
In a recent decision, the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door for employees to bypass filing a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) before filing suit. The Court unanimously decided, in Fort Bend County v. Davis, that Title VII’s charge-filing requirement is procedural and not jurisdictional. By making this finding, the Court for the first time made clear that federal courts have the authority to hear Title VII claims that are not the subject of a Charge of Discrimination, and that the charge-filing requirement could be waived by employers for failure to timely assert it as a defense.