Thomas v. Florida Power & Light Co.

595 F. Supp. 148, 35 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 737, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24672, 34 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 34,574
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedJuly 31, 1984
DocketNo. 82-6722-Civ-ALH
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 595 F. Supp. 148 (Thomas v. Florida Power & Light Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thomas v. Florida Power & Light Co., 595 F. Supp. 148, 35 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 737, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24672, 34 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 34,574 (S.D. Fla. 1984).

Opinion

FINAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT

HASTINGS, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE has come before the Court on Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment. This suit is an individual disparate treatment action brought for declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, back pay, and reinstatement to employment, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., for alleged employment discrimination based upon race leading to Plaintiff’s discharge from the employ of the Defendant.

According to the allegations of the Complaint, Plaintiff was harassed and ultimately discharged because of his race. Plaintiff also alleges that he was denied due process of law.

Defendant has moved for a summary judgment, claiming that Plaintiff failed to file his charge of discrimination with the Florida Commission on Human Relations and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in timely fashion, and that such timely filing is a necessary condition precedent to bringing an action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Both Plaintiff, acting pro se, and Defendant have submitted memoranda of law in support of their positions on this issue.

The Plaintiff, TONEY THOMAS, is a Black citizen of the United States and a resident of the State of Florida. The Defendant, FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY, is a Florida corporation, engaged in the business of generating and distributing electricity throughout the State of Florida; at all times relevant to this action, the Defendant (hereinafter “FPL”) has employed more than fourteen persons.

Plaintiff THOMAS was employed by Defendant FPL for four months in 1980. On July 14, 1980, Plaintiff was hired by FPL as a Helper at Defendant's Wingate Service Center in Fort Lauderdale, and on September 20, 1980, Plaintiff was accepted for the position of Apprentice Lineman at Defendant’s Boca Raton Service Center. On November 21, 1980, TONEY THOMAS was discharged by FPL. When discharged, Plaintiff was still within the six month probationary status that all of Defendant’s bargaining unit employees must undergo at the beginning of their employment with FPL.

[150]*150On August 20, 1981, the Plaintiff filed a charge of discrimination against Defendant FPL with the Florida Commission on Human Relations. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) originally received the charge of discrimination on August 26, 1981. Then, on September 14, 1981, the Florida Commission on Human Relations completed its consideration of the charge, and referred the complaint to EEOC. On or about August 11, 1982, EEOC issued a determination finding no reasonable cause to believe that Plaintiffs charges were true.

The Court finds that the date TONEY THOMAS was discharged by FPL, November 21, 1980, is the date that the alleged unlawful practice occurred, and that Plaintiff knew or reasonably should have known that the act challenged as discriminatory occurred on that date. The parties have stipulated and the Court further finds that TONEY THOMAS did not file his discrimination charge against the Defendant with the Florida Commission on Human Relations until August 20, 1981, or 272 days after the date that the alleged unlawful practice occurred, and that EEOC did not receive the complaint until August 26, 1981, or 278 days after the date of the act challenged as discriminatory. Finally, the parties have also stipulated and the Court finds that the Florida Commission on Human Relations completed its consideration of the discrimination charge on September 14, 1981, or 297 days after the date of Plaintiffs discharge. Since there is no genuine issue as to any of the foregoing material facts, the Court concludes that this cause is ripe for decision on the legal issue in Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment of whether Plaintiff filed a timely claim with EEOC.

It is well established that the filing of a timely charge of race discrimination with EEOC is a condition precedent to maintaining a lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Plaintiff bears the burden of proving that a challenged condition precedent has been satisfied. Jackson v. Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company, 678 F.2d 992 (11th Cir.1982). Title 42, United States Code, Section 2000e-5(e), which sets the specific time limitations on filing a complaint, provides in pertinent part that:

A charge under this section shall be filed within one hundred eighty days after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred ... except that in a case of an unlawful employment practice with respect to which the person aggrieved has initially instituted proceedings with a State or local agency with authority to grant or seek relief from such practice ..., such charge shall be filed by or on behalf of the person aggrieved within three hundred days after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred ...

Thus, while Title VII requires a claimant to file a charge with EEOC within 180 days of the act challenged as discriminatory, a limited exception is provided for in a State with a fair employment practices agency when the claimant has initially instituted a proceeding with such agency, in which case the individual would have up to 300 days to file the charge with EEOC. These time limitations begin to run from the date that the claimant knew or reasonably should have known that the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred. Stafford v. Muscogee County Board of Education, 688 F.2d 1383 (11th Cir.1982).

The State of Florida, with its Florida Commission on Human Relations, is such a state with an agency that has authority to grant relief from unlawful employment practices. Plaintiff initially instituted proceedings with this agency on August 20, 1981, some 272 days after he knew or reasonably should have known that the alleged discriminatory act occurred. According to the statutory provision cited above, TONEY THOMAS should therefore have had up to 300 days to file his charge with EEOC. Since EEOC received the claim within 278 days of the 300-day statutory period, it would appear, at first glance, that Plaintiff THOMAS had filed a timely charge of race discrimination with EEOC.

[151]*151Defendant’s argument does not end at that juncture however. Defendant strongly asserts that where a claimant fails to file a timely charge with the state agency, the extended 300-day filing period under Title VII simply does not apply. Since Florida law requires an aggrieved individual to file a claim with the Florida Commission on Human Relations within 180 days of the alleged violation, Section 23.167(10) of the Florida Statutes, and Plaintiff did not file his charge with that agency until the 272nd day, Defendant argues that TONEY THOMAS was not entitled to take advantage of the extended 300-day filing period for filing charges with EEOC.

Plaintiff, acting as his own attorney, responds by referring the Court to Mohasco Corporation v. Silver, 447 U.S. 807, 100 S.Ct. 2486, 65 L.Ed.2d 532 (1980). In Mohasco,

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595 F. Supp. 148, 35 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 737, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24672, 34 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 34,574, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thomas-v-florida-power-light-co-flsd-1984.