NEW ORLEANS - It's not her fault the federal government dragged its heels, an appeals court has ruled in reviving a white woman's discrimination lawsuit against a Houston hospital.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Sept. 4 found the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was slow to respond to Caitlin Weathers' allegations of discrimination against Houston Methodist Hospital.
She had sued Methodist after being fired, supposedly over her job performance. But to file such a suit, she needed a charge filed with the EEOC within 300 days of her termination - a deadline she missed that led to a Texas federal judge tossing her claims.
The Fifth Circuit reversed, writing she had done what she needed to do but was let down by the EEOC.
"We are only here today because the EEOC failed to discharge this most basic responsibility - as the EEOC essentially admits in its amicus brief in support of Weathers," Judge Cory Wilson wrote in a concurring opinion.
"Like too many Americans entreating their government for assistance, Weathers met with scheduling rope-a-dope online, and no one on the other end of the telephone line, as she tried - for months - to get the agency charged with eradicating workplace discrimination simply to help her compile her claim."
It started in August 2021, when Weathers was working as a patient care assistant. She complained to supervisor Sunila Ali that co-workers were harassing her and discriminating against her.
Human Resources looked into it but instead found gripes about Weathers' job performance. It met with Weathers and Ali on Aug. 23, 2021, to discuss Weathers' allegations and performance. Weathers was put on a performance improvement plan.
A month later, Ali reported Weathers was not meeting the PIP's expectations, while Weathers continued to report harassment. That October, she was fired days after a confrontation with a nurse about a patient.
So on Feb. 11, 2022, Weathers went to the EEOC's online public portal. She says she tried every day to schedule an interview but the EEOC's calendar was consistently full.
Worse, she couldn't reach anyone by phone. She had an interview with the EEOC scheduled for May 16, 2022, but it was cancelled. Two months later, the EEOC emailed her to inform that the statute of limitations to file a charge of discrimination would expire on Aug. 1 of that year.
It asked if she was still interested, to which she replied, "Yes, I'm still interested in filing a charge!!!"
The EEOC scheduled her interview for Aug. 1, the date the statute of limitations period would expire. Its email said the interview was not the same as filing a charge but did not explain whether a charge would be filed afterward.
On Aug. 2, after the limitations period expired, the EEOC requested additional details, and Weathers responded later that day. The charge was finalized on Aug. 3, and Methodist was notified five days later.
When she sued Methodist, it argued Weathers missed the 300-day window to get the required EEOC charge. The district court agreed.
The Fifth Circuit said because Title VII's exhaustion-of-remedies requirement is not a jurisdictional prerequisite to suin, it is subject to equitable tolling.
A 1992 Fifth Circuit ruling said equitable tolling can apply when a claimant has vigorously pursued their action but missed deadlines due to a lack of sophistication with procedural requirements.
"(H)ere, a pro se plaintiff who actively pursued her rights missed the filing deadline - by two days - because of the EEOC's delays, and there is no discernable prejudice to the defendant," the court ruled.