MR. JUSTICE STEVENS delivered the opinion of the Court.
The question in this Title VII case is whether Congress intended the word "filed" to have the same meaning in subsections (c)
On August 29, 1975, Mohasco Corp. discharged the respondent from his position as senior marketing economist.
Meanwhile, on August 20, 1976—a date more than 60 days after respondent's letter had been submitted to the EEOC and
About a year later, on August 24, 1977, the EEOC issued its determination that "there is not reasonable cause to believe the charge is true,"
The District Court granted Mohasco's motion for summary judgment on the ground that respondent's failure to file a
The District Court refused to apply an EEOC regulation
Over the dissent of Judge Meskill, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed. 602 F.2d 1083 (1979). It recognized that the District Court had read the statute literally, but concluded that a literal reading did not give sufficient weight to the overriding purpose of the Act. In the majority's view, in order to be faithful to "the strong federal policy in insuring that employment discrimination is redressed," id., at 1087, it was necessary "to conclude that a charge is `filed' for purposes of § 706 (e) when received, and `filed' as required by § 706 (c) when the state deferral period ends." Ibid. By giving the word "filed" two different meanings, the court concluded that the letter received by the EEOC on June 15, 1976, had been filed within 300 days as required by § 706 (e),
Judge Meskill believed that a literal reading of the statute was not only consistent with its basic purpose, but was also warranted by the additional purpose of "requir[ing] prompt action on the part of Title VII plaintiffs." 602 F. 2d, at 1092. He noted that Congress had imposed a general requirement of filing within 180 days, and that the exceptional period of 300 days for deferral States was merely intended to give the charging party a fair opportunity to invoke his state remedy without
Because there is a conflict among the Courts of Appeals on the proper interpretation of the word "filed" in this statute,
We first review the plain meaning of the relevant statutory language; we next examine the legislative history of the 1964 Act and the 1972 amendments for evidence that Congress intended the statute to have a different meaning; and finally we consider the policy arguments in favor of a less literal reading of the Act.
I
Section 706 (e) begins with the general rule that a "charge under this section shall be filed within one hundred and eighty days after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred . . . ."
That exception allows a filing with the EEOC after 180 days if "the person aggrieved has initially instituted proceedings with a State or local agency with authority to grant
That exception states that "such charge shall be filed by or on behalf of the person aggrieved within three hundred days after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred, or within thirty days after receiving notice that the State or local agency has terminated the proceedings under the State or local law, whichever is earlier . . . ." Since the state proceedings did not terminate until well after the expiration of the 300-day period, see n. 5, supra, the 300-day limitations period is the one applicable to respondent's charge. The question, then, is whether the June 15, 1976, letter was "filed" when received by the EEOC within the meaning of subsection (e) of § 706.
The answer is supplied by subsection (c), which imposes a special requirement for cases arising in deferral States: "no charge may be filed under subsection [(b)] by the person aggrieved before the expiration of sixty days after proceedings have been commenced under the State or local law, unless such proceedings have been earlier terminated . . . ." Thus, in terms, the statute prohibited the EEOC from allowing the charge to be filed on the date the letter was received. Although as the Court held in Love v. Pullman Co., supra, it was proper for the EEOC to hold respondent's "complaint in `suspended animation,' automatically filing it upon termination of the State proceedings,"
II
In contrast to this rather straightforward reading of the statute, respondent urges us to give the word "filed" two different meanings within the same statutory section in order better to effectuate Congress' purpose underlying Title VII. Essentially, his argument is that a rule permitting filings for up to 300 days after the discriminatory occurrence—regardless of the rule against filing during the deferral period—would help further the cause of eliminating discriminatory employment practices. We therefore turn to the legislative history, but in doing so we emphasize that the words of the statute are not ambiguous. Nor does a literal reading of them lead to "absurd or futile results," United States v. American Trucking Assns., 310 U.S. 534, 543. For time limitations are inevitably arbitrary to some extent; and the limitations at issue here are not so short
A
It is unquestionably true that the 1964 statute was enacted to implement the congressional policy against discriminatory employment practices,
The typical time limitations provision in the numerous proposed civil rights bills required the filing of a charge with the new federal fair employment practices agency within six months of the discriminatory conduct.
On February 10, 1964, the House of Representatives passed H. R. 7152, its version of the comprehensive Civil Rights Act. Title VII of that bill contained a 6-month limitations provision for the filing of charges with the EEOC, and directed the EEOC to enter into agreements with state agencies providing for suspension of federal enforcement.
Section 706 (d)
Since the Senate did not explain why it adopted a time limitation of only half that adopted by the House, one can only speculate. But it seems clear that the 90-day provision to some must have represented a judgment that most genuine claims of discrimination would be promptly asserted and that the costs associated with processing and defending stale or dormant claims outweigh the federal interest in guaranteeing a remedy to every victim of discrimination. To others it must have represented a necessary sacrifice of the rights of some victims of discrimination in order that a civil rights bill could be enacted. Section 706 (b) was rather clearly intended to increase the role of States and localities in resolving charges
But neither this latter provision nor anything else in the legislative history contains any "suggestion that complainants in some States were to be allowed to proceed with less diligence than those in other states." Moore v. Sunbeam Corp., 459 F.2d 811, 825, n. 35 (CA7 1972). The history identifies only one reason for treating workers in deferral States differently from workers in other States: to give state agencies an opportunity to redress the evil at which the federal legislation was aimed, and to avoid federal intervention unless its need was demonstrated.
To be sure, in deferral States having fair employment practices agencies over one year old, Congress in effect gave complainants
In sum, the legislative history of the 1964 statute is entirely consistent with the wording of the statute itself.
B
In 1972, Congress amended § 706 by changing the general limitations period from 90 days to 180 days and correspondingly extended the maximum period for deferral States from 210 days to 300 days.
As initially introduced in the House of Representatives, the proposed 1972 amendments to Title VII would have deleted § 706 (b)'s prohibition against the filing of a federal charge until 60 days after the institution of state proceedings, and would have substituted language merely prohibiting the EEOC from taking any action on the charge until the prescribed period had elapsed.
It is true that a section-by-section analysis of the 1972 amendments filed by Senator Williams refers to the then recent decision of the Tenth Circuit in Vigil v. American Tel. & Tel. Co., 455 F.2d 1222 (1972), see n. 16, supra, with approval, and that that case supports respondent's reading of the Act. But we do not find that isolated reference—which was first inserted into the legislative history after the completion of the work of both the Senate Committee and House Committee, as well as after the Report of the joint conference just referred to
III
Finally we consider the additional points advanced in support of respondent's position: (1) that it is unfair to victims of discrimination who often proceed without the assistance of counsel; (2) that it is contrary to the interpretation of the Act by the agency charged with responsibility for its enforcement;
The unfairness argument is based on the assumption that a lay person reading the statute would assume that he had 300 days in which to file his first complaint with either a state or federal agency. We find no merit in this argument. We believe that a lay person would be more apt to regard the general obligation of filing within 180 days as the standard of diligence he must satisfy, and that one who carefully read the entire section would understand it to mean exactly what it says.
We must also reject any suggestion that the EEOC may adopt regulations that are inconsistent with the statutory mandate. As we have held on prior occasions, its "interpretation" of the statute cannot supersede the language chosen by Congress.
Finally, we reject the argument that the timeliness requirements would be adequately served by allowing the EEOC to treat a letter received on the 291st day as "filed" and interpreting the § 706 (c) prohibition as merely requiring it to postpone any action on the charge for at least 60 days. There are two reasons why this interpretation is unacceptable.
By choosing what are obviously quite short deadlines, Congress clearly intended to encourage the prompt processing of all charges of employment discrimination.
In the end, we cannot accept respondent's position without unreasonably giving the word "filed" two different meanings in the same section of the statute. Even if the interests of justice might be served in this particular case by a bifurcated construction of that word, in the long run, experience teaches that strict adherence to the procedural requirements specified by the legislature is the best guarantee of evenhanded administration of the law.
Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is reversed.
So ordered.
MR. JUSTICE BLACKMUN, with whom MR. JUSTICE BRENNAN and MR. JUSTICE MARSHALL join, dissenting.
This might be viewed as "one of those cases that occasionally appears in the procedural area where it is more important that it be decided (in order to dispel existing conflict . . .) than that it be decided correctly." Oscar Mayer & Co. v. Evans, 441 U.S. 750, 766 (1979) (concurring opinion). But I cannot concur in the result the Court reaches today. For reasons set out below, I believe that the Court's decision neither is correct as a matter of statutory construction, nor does it dispel the existing decisional conflict, see ante, at 814-815, n. 16, in an acceptable fashion. I would affirm the holding of the Court of Appeals that, in a deferral State, a Title VII complaint is timely filed with the EEOC if it is "filed by or on behalf of the person aggrieved within three hundred days after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred." § 706 (e), 42 U. S. C. § 2000e-5 (e).
I
The Court finds its interpretation of the interplay between §§ 706 (c) and (e) of Title VII, 42 U. S. C. §§ 2000e-5 (c) and (e), to be based upon a "rather straightforward reading of the statute." Ante, at 818. That finding is cast into some doubt when one carefully considers the language, structure, and purpose of § 706. Moreover, the relevant legislative history leaves no room whatsoever for doubt that the Court's perception of Congress' intent is erroneous.
The rule the Court adopts today requires a Title VII complainant residing in a deferral State to file a charge of employment discrimination within 240 days of the allegedly unlawful act, in order to be certain that his complaint is timely. Yet the numeral "240" nowhere appears in Title VII. It seems a bit odd that Congress, in enacting "a statutory scheme in which laymen, unassisted by trained lawyers initiate the process," Love v. Pullman Co., 404 U.S. 522, 527 (1972); see ante, at 816, n. 19, would create a filing rule that a complainant could not locate by reading any single statutory provision. One commentator has observed:
Of course, as was stated just the other day, "[o]ur compass is not to read a statute to reach what we perceive . . . is a `sensible result.'" Bifulco v. United States, ante, at 401
The Court of Appeals in this case viewed § 706 (e), standing alone, as stating the filing requirements for one who wishes to institute a charge of employment discrimination with the EEOC. It concluded that "the requirement in § 706 (c) that no charge be `filed' before the deferral period ends simply means that the EEOC may not process a Title VII complaint until sixty days after it has been referred to a state agency." 602 F.2d 1083, 1088 (1979) (emphasis supplied). The dual meaning that the Court of Appeals gave to the word "filed" might seem strained at first blush, but that court's interpretation is supported by the structure of Title VII. Reading the word "filed" to mean two different things in the two subsections avoids an interpretation of the statute that requires a lay person to determine the time requirements for filing a complaint through reference to two separate provisions. Moreover, the Court of Appeals' interpretation of the meaning of the word "filed" in § 706 (c) in no way detracts from Congress' purpose in enacting that subsection— to prevent the EEOC from taking action on a discrimination complaint until the relevant state agencies have had an opportunity to resolve the employee's dispute with his employer. See ante, at 821. Given these considerations, I am not willing to reject the Court of Appeals' interpretation of the statute out of hand.
Furthermore, examination of Title VII's legislative history leads me to conclude that Congress, in 1972, adopted the interpretation of the statute that the Court of Appeals was later to espouse. In examining this legislative history, it is important to note that the EEOC, the agency charged by
In 1971, the pertinent House and Senate Committees both reported bills to amend Title VII that would have deleted the "no charge shall be filed" language from § 706 (c), and substituted in its place a provision that "the Commission shall take no action with respect to the investigation of such charge" until the deferral period had expired. See S. Rep. No. 92-415, p. 56 (1971); H. R. Rep. No. 92-238, p. 43 (1971).
The Conference Committee did not adopt the Senate bill's version of § 706 (c), but its explanation for failing to do so is clear and is critical to an understanding of the effect of the 1972 amendments on the question presented here. The Conference Committee stated:
In addition, a section-by-section analysis prepared by Senators Williams and Javits, and presented to both Houses along with the Conference Report, contained the following explanation of re-enacted § 706 (c):
The Court concludes that Congress in 1972 "expressly rejected the language that would have mandated the exact
II
Despite the Court's failure to give effect to the obvious intent of Congress in enacting the 1972 amendments, one might be tempted to go along with the rule it creates today if that rule had at least the advantage of creating a fixed and settled procedure for the filing of a Title VII complaint. But measured by the standard of practicality and ease of administration, I find the Court's rule sadly wanting.
Contemplate for a moment the plight of the local EEOC officer charged with responsibility for explaining the Court's rule to a prospective Title VII complainant in one of the Nation's 42 deferral States.
The foregoing example demonstrates that the rule the Court adopts today serves only to add more complexity to the already complex procedural provisions of Title VII. To be sure, an employee will be able to guarantee timely filing by bringing a complaint to the attention of the EEOC within 240 days (a time limitation that nowhere appears in the text of the statute), but if that employee files his charge between day 240 and day 300, he must await further developments.
One wonders whether the Court has anticipated the problems
It remains for Congress to restrike "the balance," ante, at 826, it plainly intended to set when it re-enacted §§ 706 (c) and (e) in 1972. I dissent from the Court's adoption of a rule that both alters that balance and, at the same time, serves no useful end.
FootNotes
"In cases where the document is submitted to the Commission more than 180 days from the date of the alleged violation but within the period of limitation of the particular 706 Agency, the case shall be deferred pursuant to the procedures set forth above: Provided, however, That unless the Commission is earlier notified of the termination of the State or local proceedings, the Commission will consider the charge to be filed with the Commission on the 300th day following the alleged discrimination and will commence processing the case. Where the State or local agency terminates its proceedings prior to the 300th day following the alleged act of discrimination, without notification to the Commission of such termination, the Commission will consider the charge to be filed with the Commission on the date the person making the charge is notified of the termination."
A current regulation to substantially the same effect is found at 29 CFR §§ 1601.13 (a), (c), (d) (2) (iii) (1979).
The approach of the Eighth Circuit, see Olson v. Rembrandt Printing Co., 511 F.2d 1228 (1975), also conflicts with the decision of the Second Circuit in this case, but in a way that substantially differs from that of the Seventh Circuit decision in Moore. Olson held that in order to preserve his rights under Title VII, a complainant must under all circumstances initially file his charge with either a state fair employment practices agency or the EEOC within 180 days of the discriminatory occurrence. See also Geromette v. General Motors Corp., 609 F.2d 1200 (CA6 1979) (citing Olson with approval, thus perhaps signalling a retreat from Anderson's endorsement of Vigil); Rodriguez v. Southern Pacific Transp. Co., 587 F.2d 980 (CA9 1978). Cf. Ciccone v. Textron Inc., 616 F.2d 1216 (CA1 1980) (substantially same approach under similar provisions in the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U. S. C. §§ 621-634).
As indicated in n. 19, infra, we believe that the restrictive approach exemplified by Olson, is not supported by the statute. Under the Moore decision, which we adopt today, a complainant in a deferral State having a fair employment practices agency over one year old need only file his charge within 240 days of the alleged discriminatory employment practice in order to insure that his federal rights will be preserved. If a complainant files later than that (but not more than 300 days after the practice complained of), his right to seek relief under Title VII will nonetheless be preserved if the State happens to complete its consideration of the charge prior to the end of the 300-day period. In a State with a fair employment practices agency less than one year old, however, a complainant must file within 180 days in order to be sure that his federal rights will be preserved, since the EEOC must defer consideration during proceedings before such a new agency for up to 120 days. See 42 U. S. C. § 2000e-5 (c), n. 1, supra.
In any event, we do not believe that a court should read in a time limitation provision that Congress has not seen fit to include, see Occidental Life Ins. Co. v. EEOC, 432 U.S. 355, at least when dealing with "a statutory scheme in which laymen, unassisted by trained lawyers initiate the process." Love v. Pullman Co., 404 U.S. 522, 527. In contrast to the construction of the statute we adopt today, the Olson approach, urged upon us by petitioner and amici, is not compelled by the plain meaning of the statutory language.
"The Senate amendment contained two provisions allowing the Commission to defer to state and local equal employment opportunity agencies. It deleted the language of existing law providing that no charge may be filed during the 60-day period allowed for the deferral and substituted a provision prohibiting the Commission from acting on such a charge until the expiration of the 60-day period. The House bill made no change in existing law. The Senate receded with an amendment that would restate the existing law on the deferral of charges to state agencies. The conferees left existing law intact with the understanding that the decision in Love v. Pullman [Co., 404] U. S. [522 (1972)] interpreting the existing law to allow the Commission to receive a charge (but not act on it) during such deferral period is controlling." (Emphasis added.)
"We are not persuaded. The Senate Report No. 95-493 was written 11 years after the ADEA was passed in 1967, and such `[l]egislative observations. . . are in no sense part of the legislative history.' United Airlines, Inc. v. McMann, 434 U.S. 192, 200 n. 7 (1977). `It is the intent of the Congress that enacted [the section] . . . that controls.' Teamsters v. United States, 431 U.S. 324, 354 n. 39 (1977). Whatever evidence is provided by the 1978 Committee Report of the intent of Congress in 1967, it is plainly insufficient to overcome the clear and convincing evidence that Congress intended § 14 (b) to have the same meaning as § 706 (c). We therefore hold that under § 14 (b) of the ADEA, as under § 706 (c) of Title VII, resort to administrative remedies in deferral States by individual claimants is mandatory, not optional." (Footnotes omitted.)
See also Consumer Product Safety Comm'n v. GTE Sylvania, Inc., ante, at 116-120.
"The only change in the present law is to delete the phrase `no charge may be filed' with the Commission by an aggrieved person in [a deferral] State or locality. The present statute is somewhat ambiguous respecting Commission action on charges filed prior to resort to the State or local agency. The new language clarifies the present statute by permitting the charge to be filed but prohibiting the Commission from taking action with respect thereto until the prescribed period has elapsed." S. Rep. No. 92-415, p. 36 (1971).
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